Not his usual type of dating
by CDC2010
Summary: Loker starts up a relationship with the latest addition to the Lightman Group. Loker/OC.   Updated as my imagination has reignited...and once again completed as my imagination has run its course!
1. Chapter 1

Author Note: This is something I put together during a week off from work with nothing much else to do. Its going to be more relationship based as I'm not confident in my ability to write about the science side of things that well. I own nothing except Katelyn.

Please do review and I'm welcome to suggestions as to where I could go from here although I have a little drama planned for later.

* * *

Loker tilted his head to look at the clock; it was 8 'o' clock on Friday night. As far as he knew the rest of the Lightman Group had gone home to enjoy their weekend. He sighed heavily; being the 'unpaid intern' didn't really allow him the luxury of just leaving if his work wasn't finished - he needed to get back in Lightman's good books - or rather on the books and that meant pushing through the fatigue to get the job done.

He yawned and leant back as far as he could in his chair. Closing his eyes he imagined being at home with a cold beer and an action movie with lots of explosives - something mind numbing that didn't have a complicated plot to follow.

He was so lost in his idyllic Friday night in fantasy that he practically fell off his chair when he heard the lab door open.

"_I'm sorry, I didn't think anyone else was here." _

It was Katelyn, the latest addition to the Lightman Group. She had been recruited about 6 months ago following a very high profile case that attracted a lot of unwanted press attention. Lightman had decided that it was probably time to get someone in for a bit of media management and had found Katelyn through some contacts he had.

She was more used to redundancy scandals and sexual harassment cases having worked freelance in her previous life. Companies would draft her in to either fire fight whatever mess they had created or be pro-active with some new idea they were planning. She didn't have any deception training but Lightman had found her to be quite intriguing in person - she was difficult to read.

Loker had seen the interview tape and couldn't quite believe how composed she had been; normally Lightman could at least get fear or embarrassment out of most people just by being himself but her face had been practically statuesque. Given that her job was to stand in front of a pack of story hungry journalists, it made sense that she had to be good at not giving anything away.

Loker pulled himself back into a more dignified position. He hadn't seen her all day and he found himself smiling at the thought that it was just the two of them in the otherwise empty building.

"_How come you're here so late?" _She asked quietly shutting the lab door behind her and taking a seat in the spare chair next to him.

"_Ah you know, diligent and dedicated worker, what about you?" _

"_Same; I don't like leaving things unfinished over the weekend. What are you working on?" _

"_Well I'm analysing these men for signs of deception; one of them stole $10 million dollars without leaving much of a trace but Lightman seems to think that they're actually all in on it, we just need to find out who the ringleader is." _said Loker bringing up the video's of 6 men on the screen.

"_Any idea's so far?" _

Loker sighed_; "Actually I've been playing solitaire since he left an hour ago. I was hoping I would have a burst of motivation at some point."_

She smiled and Loker couldn't resist another bout of radical honesty,_ "You have a lovely smile"_

He was hoping the compliment would offer up some extra facial expressions; for the last few months he'd been trying to read her in an attempt to gauge her reaction to a potential date request.

Normally he would have just asked and taken whatever he got - most of his dates were short lived anyway either because the girl lied too much for it to be more than a good night out, or she was put off by his career choice - an unpaid lie detector didn't really earn him any points.

Katelyn had him foxed though, it was as if walking through the office doors triggered some 'professionality' switch and she was in work mode for 99% of the time she was here. He'd caught her mid-conversation with Foster and Torres once though and it was clear that they were deep in a 'girly' moment; his overt presence at the coffee machine however had put a sharp stop to the topic and they had quickly turned to case talk. Whatever they had been discussing, he had noticed how her eyes had lit up.

He'd tried to quiz Torres on it later as he had a better read of her; she had let a smile slip at the memory of the conversation but had given him nothing else.

He leant forward resting his elbows on his knees; _"How come you're so hard to read?" _

Slowly she matched his position, _"Because I wouldn't be very good at my job if I wasn't"_

It was fairly dark in the lab and he edged his chair a little closer. _"Yeah but job aside; you don't give much away when the camera's aren't around."_

She laughed and shook her head slightly knowing full well what he was trying to do; _"What you're really saying is that __you__ can't read me, Lightman's been doing fine, Foster's got me pegged too and Ria's catching on quick. Maybe you're asking the wrong questions here" _

Loker thought for a moment, _"Ok, why do you act differently when you're around me?"_

At that question, a small amount of her bravado disappeared and she leant back in her chair again. She went to spin away from him but Loker caught the arms of the chair and pulled her closer, holding her squarely in front of him.

What he really wanted to do was turn on the main lights and see her eyes properly, that would answer the question that had been spinning around in his head for a while now but this would have to do.

"_Well…" _she hesitated in her answer, _"lets just say as much as I quite like the radical honesty, I didn't want to make myself an easy target." _

She liked him, Loker gave himself a mental high five. He then mentally kicked himself when he realised that she had been hiding her true feelings because she thought he would have noticed and come out with one of his typically blunt and usually offensive or embarrassing comments. He delivered another kick when he remembered making some rather risqué comments about how one of their clients had been looking at him a few weeks ago. Well she hadn't been totally wrong to be wary he figured.

Katelyn put her hands on top of his and gently lifted them off the arms of the chair, she placed them on his lap and pushed her chair back, her 'work' mode coming back into play.

Loker decided to take his chance; _"Have dinner with me tonight." _

"_Is that a question or a demand." _she asked coyly.

"_Probably a bit of both actually." _he replied.

She paused as if thinking about it for a minute; _"Ok, but I have a condition."_

"_No problem, what is it?"_

"_Radical honesty on both sides; if it's my day job to hide everyth__ing, I prefer not to do it in my time off."_

Loker grinned, _"Fine by me." _

"_In that case, I really would very much like to have a night in; its been a long week, I'm fairly tired and I have a pizza take away menu with my name on it, what do you think?" _

Loker thought back to his cold beer and action movie plan from earlier, he replaced the beer with a glass of wine and figured that the action movie would also have to be subbed for something more female friendly.

"_Sounds great; shall we leave now before we can be guilt tripped into more work?"_

Katelyn nodded, _"I'll go get my coat."_


	2. Chapter 2

She met him at the building entrance and they walked to her car. It was a small hatchback, sleek yet practical but with just the hidden hint of something more; Loker thought it suited her well and was quite looking forward to seeing her apartment to get a few more clues about her.

During the drive they were quiet; Loker figured that she was probably contemplating what she had agreed to and felt she deserved some time to psyche herself up for the night of radical honesty ahead. He on the other hand, needed some time to remember some dating etiquette; he already knew this wasn't going to be a one night stand and her choice of radical honesty actually had him feeling quite nervous. He was used to making snap decisions on women by the number of lies they told and here was one who wanted to be completely honest with him from the start.

She pulled into a drive way and tapped a few numbers into a keypad; the iron gates in front of them opened and Katelyn drove the car down into the underground garage.

"_Stairs or lift" _he asked as they reached the lower level lobby.

"_Stairs, it's the only bit of dedicated exercise I do." _She admitted with a slightly embarrassed grin.

Katelyn lived on the sixth floor and by the time they reached her door, Loker was a little out of breath. Putting her key in the lock she turned and raised an eyebrow at him.

"_I do no dedicated exercise." _he replied guessing what her question would be.

She pushed the door open and he followed her inside; he was suddenly disappointed by the lack of personal items. He had been hoping for a host of drunken photos, some family snaps or even a stuffed animal but there was nothing telling.

The apartment was wooden floors and cream walls with some carefully chosen art work; the open plan lounge and kitchen yielded him no clues other than she had probably bought milk recently because there was an empty carton on the side.

"_Drink?" _she asked heading for the kitchen.

"_Uh, yeah please."_

Loker took of his coat and lay it across the top of the couch; he kept looking round hoping to spot at least one photo but there was definitely nothing.

She appeared next to him holding a glass of wine and a pizza menu; _"Can you order whilst I go and get changed?"_

"_Sure, anything you don't like?" _

"_Nothing too hot and no anchovies, other than that I'm easy." _she said walking towards a small hallway at the back of the lounge.

Loker couldn't resist, _"I'll bet you are." _

He didn't see the small pillow that came hurtling through the air to hit him squarely on the side of the head; he laughed to himself and pulled out his cell phone to order.

A few minutes later, Katelyn emerged from her bedroom. She had downgraded her smart black office dress for jeans and a pale blue camisole, he nodded appreciatively and was very pleased to receive a slight blushing of the cheeks from her in return.

"_So what else did you have in mind for tonight other than food?" _she asked sitting down on the couch and patting the seat next to her.

Loker sat down making sure to keep a polite distance; he didn't want to give the wrong impression.

"_My original plan was an action movie with the simplest of plots but I am entirely flexible on that." _

"_Ok, well I have Casino Royale; or Starship Troopers, they're probably the only two that remotely fit your requirements" _

Loker practically spat his wine out, Casino Royale, fair enough, James Bond and the swim trunks could be understood for a single woman but Starship Troopers?

"_You're not hiding a closet sci-fi boyfriend somewhere in here are you?" _

"_Nope, I think it's a perfectly good movie and as you said - simple plot, in fact I have all three but the first one is definitely the best" _

She edged off the couch and onto the floor scooting over to the TV.

"_Your choice.." _she said looking back over to him, _"Other than those its pretty much rom-coms and chick flicks all the way." _

"_Actually, I was wondering if we could just talk for a while instead, since you've decided to drop the work mode." _

Katelyn considered his proposal and pushed herself up off the floor.

"_I was hoping that you wouldn't take my offer of radical honesty too seriously earlier but I guess I'm not so lucky." _

She bypassed the couch and went to the kitchen, retrieving the wine from the fridge she looked at the bottle before setting it down on the coffee table and returning to her place next to him.

"_But a little French courage should fix it." _

Loker studied her face carefully; he immediately loved her eyes; they were an intense shade of brown and her pupils were definitely dilated.

"_So go on then, figure me out." _she offered with a small smirk.

"_Well you are definitely attracted to me."_

"_Ah, the eyes, Torres told me about this one." _she leaned in a little closer to him and looked directly into his. Loker swallowed nervously.

"_I just wanted to know why?" _

It was a self indulgent question but Loker wanted to know the answer. She looked away clearly a little embarrassed.

"_Come on, you were the one who set the terms of tonight." _he said pressing for his answer.

"_I know; I'm just trying to figure out how to say it without sounding totally cheesy, plus you could have at least started off with something easier."_

"_All non-answers" _

"_And it's totally unfair that you can use your 'super-powers' on me, puts me at a big disadvantage."_

She sighed looking at the mock pout he put on, _"Fine, not only are you… perfectly pleasant to look at, I really like the radical honesty policy. My job is full of people telling lies and exaggerating - I find you refreshing."_

"_See not so hard, and I liked the super-power comment too."_

"_So, same question to you; I've heard you can get pretty much any girl you like, why me?"_

Loker frowned_; "You make me sound like some kind of womanizer."_

"_Office gossip, what can I say? Torres told me what you said when you first met her which doesn't really help your case either."_

"_Ok, the honest truth is that I really hate lies; so my relationships tend to be fairly short lived." _

"_So what's been your longest one then?" _

"_Erm, probably back in college - that was about 6 months. Recently its been about four dates." _

"_So back to my original question then, why me?"_

At that point the intercom went. Loker laughed when she jumped off the sofa going over the back; he hadn't been expecting something quite so childish. He was rather liking the non-work Katelyn, it was almost like being with a different person.

She buzzed up the pizza guy and Loker dashed to the door to make sure he could pay; it wouldn't have been very gentlemanly if he'd have asked her 'out' for dinner and let her foot the bill.

The pizza guy was young, probably still at college and he looked very disappointed when Loker answered the door, as Loker went to take his wallet out of his back pocket the boy very obviously tried to look round him to see if Katelyn was there.

Loker paid up and took the pizza boxes; he couldn't resist a wolfish grin and a wink at the pizza boy as he shut the door.

"_Do you order pizza a lot?" _he asked as he walked back into the lounge. Katelyn appeared from the kitchen holding some plates and napkins.

"_Maybe, a couple of times a month at most, why?" _

"_Oh nothing; but your pizza boy has the hots for you." _

"_That would explain the free ice cream he always brings." _she said sarcastically rolling her eyes at Loker.

"_Ah so you've sussed him out already?"_

"_Of course; he now brings me Chocolate instead of Vanilla. I take it your charms didn't impress Ben or Jerry?" _she asked noticing the distinct lack of dessert.

"_No, and I might have spoilt your future ice cream opportunities." _

"_Never mind, I'll just have to make sure that next time it's a black negligee I go to the door in, should solve the problem."_

Her answer was so flippant and quick that Loker couldn't tell for a moment if she was serious or not. She laughed when she saw the bemused look on his face.

"_I'm just kidding." _She clarified taking a slice out of the box.

* * *

The conversation was fairly generic whilst they ate; but it was an easy conversation. Loker enjoyed finding out the small insignificant things first; normally he kept to a fairly standard pattern on dinner dates but he kept asking question after question desperate to find out more.

He wasn't used to seeing so many expressions on her face and he tried to remember them all from the sadness when she talked about her late parents to happiness when he asked about favourite holiday destinations.

As she cleared away the pizza boxes and plates, Loker decided to ask a far bolder question but one that had been bugging him since he arrived.

"_How come you don't have any photographs around?" _

She'd just turned around to head back to the couch and he wasn't expecting the extreme sadness on her face. He suddenly wished he hadn't asked.

"_It's ok you don't have to answer that one." _he said quickly hoping to undo whatever it was he had just done.

She took a really deep breath and put a hand on one of the kitchen chairs as if to steady herself. Loker stood up and went over to her.

"_I'm sorry." _he said quietly_._ He didn't really know what he was apologising for but he felt he should anyway.

"_No, given how well the conversation's been going, it was probably going to come up sooner or later." _

Loker could tell that this was more than just liking a tidy space.

"_Really, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." _

"_It's just that I've told a couple of guys before and it hasn't really been handled well."_

Loker didn't understand what she was talking about but knew that there was probably very little she could say that would put him off now. He liked her a lot.

"_Well, it' still your call but I have a very open mind." _he said placing his hand on hers.

She took another deep breath and led him back to the couch; he noticed how this time she sat further away from him than before.

"_Well losing my parents at 17 isn't my only sob story. After they died, I met Michael, we dated for years, right through college, we moved in together and it was great. He proposed when I was 23 and we got married the year after."_

She paused, taking in his reaction. Loker tried to keep his face still; his mind was churning over what had happened next; was he violent, did they divorce? That wouldn't explain the sadness though.

"_We were married for 8 months. One day he went to go and get some groceries and a drunk driver hit him head on."_

She said it quickly as though it physically hurt to get the words out. They were both silent for a moment before she spoke again.

"_Widowed at 25 doesn't do a lot for you when you decide to start dating again - as one guy so nicely put it; I was 'second hand goods'…So that's why there's no photo's, because all the ones I have are of me and him." _

"_I'm so sorry."_

"_It doesn't freak you out?" _She was surprised at his response.

Loker shook his head and smiled gently. Katelyn looked away from him, her eyes going towards the ceiling, she was trying not to cry.

"_I'm sorry, I'm usually better than this when I talk about it." _

"_Don't apologise, radical honesty remember?" _He said trying to bring some humour back into the conversation.

She looked back at him with a small smile, her chocolate eyes were moist.

"_Thank you." _she said quietly.

"_What for?" _

"_For making me feel normal again."_

Loker laughed softly, "_I don't think you're normal…_"

He leant in closer hoping that she would also close the distance between them. When she did, he gently raised his hand to her face.

"…_in fact I think you're pretty amazing." _

He really wanted to kiss her but wasn't sure if that would be what she wanted right now. He'd just actively encouraged her to remember her late husband and as much as he'd usually see an opportunity to steal a kiss during the soppy part of a movie, this was something entirely different.

He held the little bit of distance left and settled for simply brushing his fingers across her cheek before lowering his hand and settling back against the cushions.

There was an awkward moment of silence.

"_I'm sorry," _she said with a bit more energy _"you can see why I tend be quite work focused. I don't do a lot of dating, mostly because I tend to deliberately avoid having time for it." _

"_And here was me thinking you were just a diligent and dedicated worker." _

"_Almost as diligent and dedicated as you." _she smirked.

Loker was pleased that the atmosphere had disappeared; but it was getting late and he was debating what his next move would be.

"_So given my token gesture of a dating history, what does the dating expert think we should do next?" _

"_Well, if you were a compulsive but attractive liar and I was very lucky, I would probably be getting dressed and going to get a taxi by now. If you've only told a few lies then I might be a bit more gentlemanly with a kiss at the door and a deal for a second date."_

"_And if I've scared the crap out of you with my own twisted version of radical honesty?" _

"_Then I have no idea." _

She nodded slowly pondering their situation; _"How about that movie then? If we fall asleep we already know the couch is comfy and its not like there's any work tomorrow." _

"_Perfect, Starship Troopers it is."_

Katelyn set up the DVD player and upon coming back to the couch this time she deliberately settled next to Loker, their shoulder's touching. Loker inhaled and could smell the faintest hint of strawberries.

The film started and he decided to up the anti slightly; he lifted his arm, half expecting her to move away from him again. Instead she happily snuggled in against his chest and he lowered his arm so that his hand rested on her waist.

He couldn't remember feeling this comfortable on date before, never mind a first date. The movie played on and he began to focus more on her than the mindless action in front of him; he liked how every time a soldier was gruesomely maimed she cowered against his chest; how she nestled her head against his shoulder and how every now and then she looked up at him just as if to check that he was still there.

* * *

Loker shifted uncomfortably, there was a weight across his legs preventing him from moving. Opening his eyes it dawned on him that he was still on Katelyn's couch and it was 8 in the morning. Looking down, Katelyn had positioned her head on his lap and was still sleeping peacefully. He found himself smiling again.

Wanting to stay there longer was not a viable option, nature had taken over and he was going to have to move her if not wake her up. Gently he lifted her up and tried to slide himself from underneath; carefully he lowered her back down and stifled a laugh as she rolled over rather inelegantly.

He headed for the bathroom and emerged feeling a little more awake. Katelyn wasn't on the sofa when he entered the lounge, she was in the kitchen pouring out two mugs of coffee. Loker accepted the mug readily.

"_Breakfast?" _she asked with a yawn. Her hair was all messy and she looked completely opposite to her usual office self. Loker decided there and then that he didn't want their 'date' to end just yet.

"_Actually, how about I go home and make myself look a little less dishevelled; then meet you back here in a hour or so and we go out for breakfast?" _

"_No other plans this weekend?" _she looked almost confused as to why he would still want to see her outside of work.

"_No, but what's that look for?" _he asked changing the subject slightly.

"_Its nothing," _she said turning away back towards the counter.

"_Well that's a lie, you shrugged your shoulder." _he said bluntly.

"_You really don't play fair do you?" _she said, her back still turned.

"_Why should I?" _he asked rhetorically, _"just tell me the truth." _

"_Ok, answer my question from last night - why me?"_

Loker wasn't going to answer this without seeing her face so he gently took hold of her hips and spun her round fixing her against the counter. This low self esteem didn't match the confident and poised press officer persona that he was so used to seeing; he momentarily felt quite angry that previous dates had written her off so quickly leaving her doubting herself.

"_Well, you're definitely perfectly pleasant to look at," _he started with her description of him; _"and I find you to be intelligent, intriguing and totally irresistible." _

The compliment and probably the fact that his pupils were most definitely dilated worked; she smiled softly.

"_So it's settled. I'll see you in a bit, shall we say 10?" _he said removing his hands from her hips.

"_Ok." _her voice was quiet but Loker was fairly certain he had made his interests clear; hopefully when he came back later she would stop questioning why he wanted her.

Loker rescued his coat from the floor by the couch and Katelyn walked him to the door.

They hadn't shared a first kiss yet and Loker sure as hell wasn't going to do it with morning breath. Instead, he settled for a quick peck on the cheek and a rather too goofy wave goodbye.

* * *

A few minutes later he was in a taxi and on his way back home, he showered quickly and picked out a new outfit, black jeans, white shirt and one of his classic black sweater vests.

Combing through his hair he found himself constantly checking the clock.

He hailed a taxi and headed back over to Katelyn's - he had butterflies in his stomach and was hoping he could convince her to spend all day with him.

He buzzed the intercom on the main doors and was pleased with how quickly she responded; he took the lift up to the sixth floor and knocked on her door.

"_Wow, you look great_" he said as she opened the door. She'd gone with leggings and black boots with a low cut tunic top that really hugged her curves.

"_Not looking too bad yourself." _she said, collecting her bag from the small table behind the door.

"_Wait, there's something I really wanted to do." _he said stopping her before she could walk out of the apartment.

The look of curiosity on her face was lovely and Loker watched as it turned into arousal as he cupped her face in his hands; he bent his head down and kissed her softly on the lips. She tasted like toothpaste and he could smell the strawberries from her shampoo again. He deepened the kiss and wrapped one arm around her waist, she pressed her body against his and moved her hands around his back.

Loker was about ready to manoeuvre her back into the apartment and forget about breakfast but he wanted to do this properly. Reluctantly he broke off the kiss and enjoyed how her face was the perfect picture of arousal. Her breathing was shallow and her lips were flushed with colour.

"_Right then," _he said breathlessly, _"breakfast!"_


	3. Chapter 3

It had been about 3 weeks since their first 'date' and Loker sat in the lab staring at the empty chair next to him.

Again he was supposed to be working but had other things on his mind. Two nights ago had officially been date number four - the next one would make this the longest 'relationship' he'd had since late puberty.

He was feeling rather apprehensive about the whole thing and didn't really know why; he put it down to the fact the experience so far had been completely opposite to his usual kind of dating.

Normally with a girl who achieved a 'date number four' the decision had already been made that there were one too many lies to be worth pursuing any further but his choice of restaurants; picking up the cheque and some extremely flirtatious conversation usually resulted in a very pleasant end to that fateful date. A short sharp burst of radical honesty then usually solved the problem regarding date number five.

Katelyn however didn't care about fancy restaurants, in fact on two of the dates she'd cooked; the fourth had been another pizza take out purely to torment the poor college pizza boy. She'd also made it clear that despite a few subtle moves on his part, she wasn't ready to go for a more physical relationship just yet; she'd openly admitted that it was new territory for her and she just needed a little time.

Loker was generally happy to accommodate this without question; given that he was also apparently turning over a new leaf, it made sense that the one with actual experience of a proper adult relationship should set the pace.

His stomach grumbled disrupting his chain of thought; it was two in the afternoon and he hadn't eaten since the night before, purely because the contents of his kitchen cupboard seemed to be growing something inedible this morning and he hadn't had time to shop or find something on the way into work.

He briefly considered going to find Katelyn to see if she would join him in a wander to one of the vendors outside the building but changed his mind. Even though everyone had pretty much guessed what was going on; he and Katelyn had agreed to keep it low-key at work; plus the case she was working on had her rather preoccupied at the moment.

Unfortunately she was having to work with the press officer from a rather large company that was currently under investigation for taking part in a big drugs shipping scandal.

Said press officer was constantly on the phone asking for updates on the interviews and to find out what Katelyn was planning to release; as she was given a large amount of anonymity by Lightman she was therefore becoming increasingly frustrated at not only being interrupted every five minutes but also having her work scrutinised.

Loker headed out of the lab to appease his stomach and noticed a man standing at reception speaking to Heidi. He was dressed in designer faded jeans and a black top which was clearly designed to show that he was a regular patron at a gym somewhere.

As Loker approached the reception desk he could hear Heidi giving the man directions to somewhere in the building; Loker watched the movement of her hands and realised that she was directing him to Katelyn's office.

The man thanked Heidi and picked up a white bag from the floor; it was the kind you'd get from one of the posh deli's and it had the word _'Roseraies' _across the side. He passed Loker and gave him a perfectly genuine smile before continuing towards Katelyn's office for what appeared to Loker to be a potential lunch date.

Loker veered away from reception and headed for Lightman's office - he knew full well that his boss had camera's in just about every room and that what he was about to do was probably not a good idea.

Lightman was sitting at his desk flipping through some case papers; Loker knocked on the door carefully before stepping inside.

Lightman looked up briefly, _"What do you want?" _

Loker put his hands in his pockets and hovered at the opposite end of the room trying to phrase his request in the least stalkerish way.

"_Erm, can I access the camera system for building?" _

"_Why?" _This time Lightman put the case papers down and looked towards the young researcher standing nervously in his office.

Loker decided that blurting it out quickly would be the best option; _"A rather good looking guy has just gone into Katelyn's office with food and I want to know what he's there for."_

"_Lunch I would have thought." _responded Lightman not trying to hide the sarcasm.

"_Just let me look please?" _He was pleading but he didn't care; he just wanted to see the cameras.

"_Fine if it'll stop you whining, but I'll tell you for nothing that it's a bad idea to spy on your girlfriend." _

Lightman tapped a few keys on his computer and the camera feed appeared on the wall, he stood up and headed out of the room.

"_You're on your own; if she asks if I was involved in this blatant disregard for privacy I'll lie and not in your favour." _

Loker was surprised with how easy that had been, obviously his boss was preoccupied with something far more important than Loker's sudden paranoia; but he didn't acknowledge Lightman's last comment; his attention was already on the screen.


	4. Chapter 4

Author Note: I apologise for how 'empty' this chapter is both in writing quality and words. I didn't want to write it from Loker's POV as otherwise my plan for the next chapter wouldn't really make sense…

**Katelyn's Office**

Katelyn groaned when there was a knock at her door; she couldn't count how many times she had been interrupted today but it was doing her head in; she saved the three line press release that had only gained a full stop in the last hour and looked towards the door.

_"Come in."_

The door opened and she instantly didn't care about her rather rubbish day; she flicked the phone off the hook as she scrambled out of the chair to give her best friend, Max Thompson, a huge hug.

"_I've come to check out your new digs." _he said unravelling himself from her arms,_ "and to bring you lunch because if my memory serves me right you live off thin air when you're working." _

Max walked further into the office checking out the little-bit-too-sterile-décor.

"_Well, at least its better than that hell-hole you were working in before." _he commented, setting the bag down on a table next to a couple of small white couches at the end of her office.

"_There's nothing hell-holeish about my apartment thank you very much_" replied Katelyn with mock indignation.

Max grinned and started to empty out the contents of the bag; Katelyn was very pleased when she saw that it was full of carbs and sugar - two cheese and ham panini's; an assortment of miniature pastries and two full fat Cokes.

"_So how is the new job going; didn't think you wanted to be under someone else's thumb?" _asked Max handing her one of the Cokes.

Katelyn cracked open the can and settled on the same sofa, her arm resting on the back propping her head up_._

"_It's actually really good here, regular pay, very interesting cases and I get pretty much left to my own devices. Only downside is feeling like a short story every time I see one of my colleagues." _

"_No job's perfect" _said Max with a wink.

"_Speaking of work if you insist; how is the new club going?" _

"_It's great, my Dad has finally made me manager so its mine to do what I want with…within reason of course." _

"_That's brilliant news; I'll have to come and check it out soon."_

"_VIP area and champagne all the way for my best girl." _he replied rubbing her knee.

Katelyn took a few bites of her panini and 'mmmmed' appreciatively.

"_Oh and I nearly forgot, I have the holiday photos" _said Max rummaging around in the deli bag again.

"_You keep eating, I'll go through them for you." _he said before she could put her food down, _"I want to make sure you don't fade away." _

She rolled her eyes at his comment but shuffled further along the couch until she was practically on his lap.

Max took her through the photo's one by one. She'd been waiting to see these pictures for ages but she and Max hadn't really had time to get together since the holiday; she'd seen the ones their other friends had taken but she knew Max probably had some she would quite happily destroy.

"_You __have__ to burn that one."_

"_No I don't; I think it perfectly captures the look of surprise on your face when you realised I had tied your bikini top to the sun bed." _

Katelyn jabbed him in the ribs; he flinched and laughed.

"_Careful, or I'll have this one blown up for your boring office wall." _

"_Oh my gosh, when did you take that one?" _she said staring at the hideous photo, _"I look awful!"_

"_I disagree entirely, you look very cute when you're sleeping off a drunken stupor." _

Katelyn knew she had to have her share of terrible photos, it was a bit of a tradition between their group of friends and she could at least safely say that this time around hers weren't the worst.

They finished lunch between some idle chit chat about the new club and a brief discussion about what swimwear would be safe from practical jokes in the future.

Max got up to leave, _"Sorry it's a fleeting visit."_

"_Not a problem, its been really good to see you." _she said rising to her feet.

Max put his arm round her shoulders as they made the short walk to the office door.

"_Come to the club soon - that's an order not a request." _

"_I will, I promise." _she said smiling softly at her friend.

"_Right then, get back to work you skiver, I'll see myself out." _

Katelyn laughed to herself and shut the door behind him. The press release hadn't got any longer when she sat back at her desk.


	5. Chapter 5

Loker watched the so-called 'Max' guy leave the office.

Whoever he was Loker was certain he hadn't seen that many positive emotions on her face before and it really bothered him.

A small part of Loker's brain kept repeating that there were no facial signs of attraction but the all too familiar conversation they'd had coupled with the physical movements squashed the more sensible thoughts.

Loker left Lightman's office and went straight to hers, he didn't knock and was met with a look of surprise followed by happiness when she saw him.

"_Er, just checking to see how your days going." _he said quickly having not really thought this through.

She hesitated clearly not having expected to see him at this time of the day for no real reason.

"_Frustrating really." _

Loker studied her face apart from looking quite tired, there was no anxiety, no fear and definitely no guilt. How could she not be feeling guilty she had just had an intimate lunch date with a Calvin Klein-model-esque man?

He felt a bit stuck; if it had been obvious on her face he would have called her on it there and then; maybe she had her 'press' face on, but then again she was showing other things, particularly confusion right now.

Loker's head was spinning; the rational part of his brain was now starting to say that he had obviously got the wrong end of the stick about this meeting and he should forget about it. However, alongside the new style of dating appeared to be emerging some rather unfamiliar feelings of jealousy and there was something that just wasn't sitting right with him.

"_So who was that guy you were having pastries with" _He had been hoping to make it sound nonchalant and suddenly regretted the use of 'pastries' as opposed to just lunch.

"_Excuse me?" _Her face still showed confusion and a hint of surprise at how he'd known what they'd had to eat.

Loker continued; _"You know, Mr Talk Dark and Designer." _

"_His name is Max; he's a friend; and how did you know what we had?" _

Her voice had an edge to it which he hadn't heard before.

"_Oh a friend; well your hug and partial lap dance says otherwise." _

Loker was a little shocked at the severity of his comment but he made sure not to show it; her face however told him that she was practically horrified by his words.

She stood up slowly from her desk, "_Do you know what; I'm not going to even entertain a response if you're going to speak to me like that." _

The edge in her voice was sharper this time and her face was starting to show signs of anger.

Loker knew he should just stop right there, apologise and leave before he could do any more damage but for some reason the reasonable part of his brain was apparently no longer connected to his mouth.

"_No need to explain; the drunken bikini story said enough for you; as did his little leg rub." _

His facts were wrong but he didn't really care; he knew this wasn't like him at all but he was really confused about what he'd seen and what he was feeling. Her eyes flicked up to the security camera in the corner and back down to him as she realised what he'd done. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath; her voice was full of disappointment when she spoke and she didn't look at him.

"_You spied on us?" _

There was no point lying, he'd already said way too much anyway.

"_Yes." _

"_I can't believe you think so little of me. How can you think that I'd cheat on you in the first place or at the very least that I'd be so brazen as to do it at work?" _

Loker had no answer for that, truth was there weren't any solid reasons for his current actions.

"_Fine, you want the truth all the time? Take it for what it's actually worth to you then." _She stepped round to his side of the desk.

"_Max is my best friend, we've known each other since kindergarten and we're very close. Occasionally we and our friends go on holiday and I'd say that his interest in my bikini top is purely because he think's it's funny that he can wind me up, if it was anything more than that then his boyfriend of 6 years would probably have a major problem with me" _

Her tone was patronising and when she finished speaking her arms were folded across her chest and she was glaring straight at him. Loker was afraid that he'd done some serious damage; especially now he'd been informed that the man he was essentially accusing her of cheating with was gay and had a better relationship track record than he did.

Suddenly he now had nothing to say, not even a basic apology was forthcoming. He was used to actively putting his foot in it in order to end a relationship, but he didn't want to end this one at all, what on earth had he been thinking?

Her face softened into sadness and she sighed heavily unfolding her arms to prop herself up against the desk.

"_Maybe you should get back to work." _her voice was quiet and she avoided looking at him.

Loker still couldn't think of anything to say to fix what he'd just broken so he turned and left her office.

* * *

He walked slowly back to the lab trying to make sense of why he'd just behaved like a complete jerk for no real reason. It had only been three weeks and there was so much they still had to find out about each other; he had hoped that he would have that chance.

Torres had come back from her case outing with Foster and was studying some video footage. When she saw him her face changed to concern; he clearly wasn't hiding his emotions too well right now.

"_Geez, who died?"_

"_Nobody but I really just want the ground to open up and swallow me right now." _he replied settling back in his chair and folding his arms onto the desk.

"_Why?" _

Loker groaned and put his head on his arms.

"_I really don't want to talk about it." _his voice was muffled by his shirt sleeves.

"_Fine suit yourself; Foster wants you to analyse these recordings." _she said bluntly.

* * *

"_Gillian?" _Katelyn peered round Foster's door.

"_Hi Katelyn, is everything all right?"_

Katelyn stepped into probably the only truly welcoming room in the whole building.

"_I don't know; something just happened with Eli." _

"_Ah, given that look, I think my next question should be, what's he done?" _Foster came round from behind her desk and indicated for Katelyn to take a seat in one of the comfy armchairs.

She didn't mind Foster reading her; it wasn't the same as when the other's tried it. As much as she got on with Torres, Katelyn always felt challenged if she picked up on something; and with Lightman, well it was almost intrusive, it was rare he commented on any of his employee's emotions but the knowledge that he knew everything was just creepy sometimes.

"_I suppose it goes without saying that we're dating." _

Foster smiled warmly and gave a gentle nod.

"_Remember that I told you about Michael?" _

Again Gillian nodded not wanting to interrupt.

"_Eli found out on our first date and I think he handled it a little too well really. In my previous experience guys have either assumed I'm looking for an immediate replacement or that I have some other defect. He just carried on as if I'd hadn't really said anything." _

"_So what happened today?" _

"_Well, a friend stopped by to bring me lunch; Eli decided that he would spy on us and then basically accuse me of cheating on him. Anyway, I have a strong suspicion that he's not ok with the whole I used to be married idea or maybe the idea of potential getting into a proper relationship for a change; I'm not sure." _

"_He spied on you?_

"_Yeah, with the security cameras." _

"_But why would he think you were cheating on him at work of all places?" _

"_Funny, I asked that question," _Katelyn shook her head_, "The guy he saw me with is my best friend we've known each other for years and I guess Eli just mis-read us." _

"_How did he leave it?" _

"_Well after the barrage of abuse he just clammed up and I told him to leave, I didn't really know what else to do. I figured you know him quite well maybe you could offer some advice?" _

Foster was quiet for a few moments considering what Katelyn had said.

_"He's a nice guy at heart so he's probably just not getting his head round something as you said. I'd have thought he'll apologise at some point; its obvious he's crazy about you anyway."_

Katelyn raised her eyebrow, _"How so?"_

Foster laughed softly,_ "He's been very distracted lately." _

"_I guess I'll leave him to stew on it for a while and see what he does, although if his recent thought pattern is anything to go by he'll probably assume he's been dumped." _

"_It'd be a first time for him, so maybe a learning curve it's about time he took." _

Katelyn laughed and stood up to go.

"_I don't mean to pry, but how do you feel about him?"_

Katelyn couldn't stop the smile appearing on her face.

"_I thought so." _replied Foster, _"I hope he comes to his senses, there's obviously something worth working on between the two of you." _

Katelyn walked to the door, _"Thank's Gillian."_

"_Anytime." _


	6. Chapter 6

Author note: Thank you to my so far only reviewer - heyyourockmysocks. To everyone else reading, please please please do leave a quick review, I really do appreciate it.

* * *

Katelyn headed back to her office with the feeling that she'd just get her stuff and go home. She wasn't really angry with him; okay so the spying part wasn't a great plus point but she was fairly sure this wasn't normal behaviour for him. However, regardless of how well she was taking his sudden outburst, she didn't really want to see Loker for a little while.

Collecting her bag from under her desk she glanced at the clock; it was nearly 4pm so although it was much earlier than she normally got out of the office she wasn't exactly ditching work. As she walked to her car she considered going to Max's club, it probably wouldn't be very busy tonight and it had been a while since she had a night out with her friends. She guessed Max probably hadn't seen them for a while either so it would make a nice surprise for them to turn up unannounced.

By the time she made it home, her four closest friends had all accepted her text invite, thankfully with the caveat of making it a not so late night as it was Thursday and they all had unfortunately early responsibilities the next day.

Katelyn checked her messages when she got in, there were none from Loker; had he not have been such a jerk today she might have invited him out with her. As a group, they'd all known each other for at least fifteen years so there was an unspoken expectation that they would get a chance to 'vet' a new addition before things got serious. Katelyn was sure Loker would cope well under the scrutiny but she wasn't going to introduce him if he was going to be a paranoid mess, she wanted the real Loker back first.

She took her time getting ready and booked a taxi to pick her up at 7.30pm; having eaten lunch for a change she fixed herself some toast vowing not to drink too much. Loker still hadn't called and she was beginning to feel a little disappointed; deciding to put it at the back of her mind she got dressed and went out.

* * *

It was 11.30pm and Loker was freezing. He was sitting on the steps outside Katelyn's apartment block and had been there for well over an hour now.

He tried calling when he got out of work but her phone was going straight to voicemail; he'd then tried her apartment but had got no answer there either. He opted not believe that she was ignoring him but instead preferred the idea that she must have gone out; however he hadn't expected her to be out this late given that she was at work tomorrow and she was usually in before 8am.

He rubbed his hands together and shivered; looking at his watch he decided to give it another 15 minutes and he'd call it quits for the night. There were sufficient messages on her answering machine for her to know that he was sorry and wanted to talk. A taxi cab pulled up in front of him and he was felt a strange combination of relief and nerves when he saw her step out.

"_What are you doing here so late? You must be freezing!"_

Loker's nerves subsided slightly when her first words showed concern rather than anger. He stood up stiffly as she approached the apartment steps.

"_How long have you been here?" _

"_Oh not that long I guess, maybe an hour and a half. I did try to call but when you didn't answer I decided to come and apologise in person."_ he replied looking sheepish when he raised the topic of his earlier behaviour.

"_Come on inside; I'll make hot chocolate." _

Loker was doing better than he'd expected; he had almost convinced himself that he was doomed never to get past the fatal date four and had ruined what could potentially be the best relationship he'd possibly ever had. So far she didn't seem angry with him or even disappointed so he took it as a good sign and followed her into the apartment block.

Katelyn set about making some hot drinks and Loker hovered nearby thinking what he should say. He wanted to know where she'd been, purely out of curiosity as she didn't normally go out during the week; but he felt that this would probably not be the best thing to start with.

"_Katelyn, I'm really sorry about today. I can honestly say I don't know what got into me." _

She turned to him and put the two mugs and a bag of marshmallows on her kitchen table. She sat down indicating for Loker to do the same; he sat down opposite her and pulled the hot mug of chocolate into his cold hands. He'd had women yell at him before, ignore him and even slap him on one occasion so he was well prepared for however this conversation would go.

"_When we started this I agreed to always tell you the truth so have a little trust in me. I really like you and I really want to see where this could go; I just need you to promise that you won't be quite so paranoid in the future and we can forget it happened." _

There was nothing in her face or body language to say that she was still angry with him and Loker couldn't quite comprehend how she could be so indifferent about it. He'd said some quite harsh things and given that lesser comments had previously assisted him in ending a relationship; he didn't feel that in this situation he deserved to be forgiven so easily. Nevertheless she had asked him to trust her and that also meant trusting her decision.

"_I'm sorry" _he repeated quietly, _"I promise." _

She laughed softly, _"There's just one more thing I have to ask."_

Loker looked up from his mug wondering if he was going to have to do some proper grovelling as he'd expected, _"Go ahead."_

"_Did you see the photos on the camera?" _She cringed slightly as she said it.

"_No, I didn't."_

"_Oh, thank goodness for that."_ She said letting out a breath and an over exaggerated gesture of relief, _"They really weren't good pictures."_

Loker laughed; _"Do I ever get to see any pictures of you?"_

She cringed again, _"I'm sure you will at some point if you meet my friends, they won't be fussed about preserving my dignity."_

"_Did you see them tonight?"_

"_Yeah, a last minute thing really, we went to Max's new club_." She stopped there obviously gauging his reaction.

"_Can I go with you sometime and meet him properly?" _

She smiled at his response, _"Sure, but you'll have to meet the others too or they'll start complaining. I haven't told them about you yet so be prepared for a bit of a grilling."_

"_After working for Lightman, I'm sure I can cope with some untrained interrogation."_

Loker asked some more questions about her friends as they finished their drinks; he enjoyed seeing happiness back on her face and couldn't help but feel guilty about the emotions he'd caused only a few hours before.

It was soon well past midnight and they were both starting to feel the effects of a long week and a late night.

"_You should stay here tonight; it's too late for you to go home."_ She said stifling a yawn.

"_Are you sure?"_ Loker still hadn't quite accepted the fact that she was ok with him and wanted to make sure he wasn't crossing any lines.

"_Yeah, they already know about us at work so what will be the difference if we show up together in the morning, as long as you don't mind being kicked out of bed before 8?"_ she replied with a cheeky grin.

"_I'm sure I can manage." _

Loker cleared the mugs away whilst Katelyn went to go and clear up the 'I can't decide on my outfit' mess she had created before she went out. He hadn't seen her bedroom before but had pictured it to be an extension of the rest of the apartment; he was surprised to see that she'd painted the back wall in a deep crimson. There were still no photographs but he was pleased to find a stuffed teddy in a waistcoat perched on top of the covers.

He watched her put away the last of her 'unsuccessful' clothes before realising that as he hadn't ever considered the prospect of staying over he had nothing to sleep in and no change of clothes for the morning. The morning part wasn't much of a problem, he'd shown up for work before without having had an opportunity to change first but he was more embarrassed about his current underwear of choice.

Sleeping in his jeans would not be a comfortable option so she was going to see his 'love machine' boxers that a friend had given him a couple of years ago as a birthday present – he severely regretted not keeping up with his washing.

"_Erm, can I ask that you don't laugh too much? I haven't quite made it to wash day yet" _

"_Depends if you agree not to run for hills when you see me without my make up on?"_

"_Deal" _

Katelyn went to the bathroom to remove her make-up; when she returned she'd changed into a pair of small pink shorts and a white t-shirt. Loker had seen her legs before when she'd worn dresses or skirts to work but he hadn't see so much of them and he took his time to admire the view; his eyes moved up to her face and he thought she looked even more attractive without her makeup, not that she'd ever agree if he told her. He watched her try and fail to suppress a loud giggle when she saw his boxers.

"_You promised not to laugh!" _he protested ducking under the covers quickly.

"_No, actually you asked me not to laugh too much - I think my level of laughter is well within pre-agreed limits." _she replied sliding in next to him.

Loker was still quite cold even after the hot chocolate; sitting on hard stone steps in mid-January was not a sensible thing to do; he shivered again as he pulled the covers tighter around him. Without hesitation; Katelyn moved closer to him and wrapped her legs around his; she was very warm and he laughed when a slightly shocked look crossed her face as she realised just how cold he was.

As Loker gazed into her eyes he began to realise just how lucky he was; he seemed to have finally found someone who accepted him entirely for who he was without exception and more importantly someone who didn't actively want to lie to him. He thought back to just after their argument when he'd been back in the lab supposedly working; in fact he had been trying to figure out why he had been so put out by her being close and open with someone else. It suddenly dawned on him that he was jealous of the relationship Max and Katelyn had; how Max knew what she liked to eat and drink; the way he knew how to make her laugh so easily; how they'd shared memories together and how he probably knew just about everything there was to know about her. Loker wanted to have all that and more with her.

"_So when are we having date five?" _she asked quietly working her fingers in between his.

"_Tomorrow; I want to take you somewhere special." _he said deciding in that instant that he would take her to a little music café he liked. He hadn't ever taken a date there before, it was somewhere he liked to go alone; occasionally he even played his guitar, a little haven away from his everyday life but he wanted to share it with her.

"_It's a date." _she said with a yawn.


	7. Chapter 7

Wherever that obnoxious beeping was coming from he wished it would stop.; it was too early and that noise was too loud. When the beeping finally stopped he opened his eyes and didn't recognise where he was at first; he rubbed his hands across his eyes and pushed himself up onto his elbows. For once he could honestly say he was happy to be awake.

Katelyn was standing at her dressing table brushing her hair, and Loker had definitely never seen that outfit before; she was wearing a black skirt and then nothing else but a black bra. Clearly her decision to have him stay over had broken down a few more barriers for her; either that or she hadn't realised he was awake.

Loker took a few more seconds to fully take in what he was seeing before giving a gentle cough; Katelyn turned her head slightly and gave him a flash of that beautiful smile he loved.

"_I thought you'd never wake up." _she said putting her brush down on the table and turning fully towards him. Loker was momentarily speechless, she passed him a mug of coffee and he took a swig eagerly seeking a quick fix to his still dozy state.

"_Well if you'd told me I would wake up to this;" _he gestured towards her and grinned, _"then I'd have been up hours ago."_

Katelyn laughed and perched on the edge of the bed reaching for a striped turtle neck sweater she had laid out on top of the covers. As she went to put it over her head, Loker reached out to stop her from lowering her arms.

"_Hey, you'll mess my hair up" _her protest was muffled underneath the fabric that covered her face.

Loker scooted closer across the bed, his hands still holding her arms above her head. Gently he placed a kiss just below her ear; when he felt her relax he moved his lips carefully down her neck.

He felt her take a deep breath and noticed how her skin flushed slightly. Loker pushed the sweater back up off her arms discarding it on the floor, he continued to place soft kisses along her neck and jaw line.

"_We'll be late." _she said breathlessly; her voice indicating ever so slightly that she didn't really care.

Loker pulled away knowing that as much as he would like to see how far this would go right now; they would be late and given that they wanted to leave on time this afternoon it would be best if they put things on pause just for now. He settled for being rewarded with the look on her face.

Loker picked up her sweater from the floor and handed it to her; she looked a little disappointed in his decision to stop. He watched her pull the sweater firmly over her head and reluctantly got out of bed to make himself look a little more respectable. When he came back from the bathroom, she was fully dressed and washing applying the finishing touches to her make up.

"_You really don't need that much you know." _he said tugging on yesterdays shirt.

"_Tell that to the cameras I get to stand in front of." _she said putting the mascara back in the make-up bag.

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist; unable to kiss her neck again he rested his chin on her right shoulder instead.

"_So, what time are you picking me up tonight?" _she asked leaning back into him and making eye contact via the mirror.

"_Is eight ok? I've got somewhere special in mind." _

"_Sounds good to me, do I need to wear anything in particular?"_

"_No, you don't need to wear anything at all." _

Katelyn elbowed him gently, _"Hey, you know what I mean." _

Loker laughed and backed off raising his hand in front of him in defence. She laughed back and looked towards the alarm clock on the bedside table.

"_Come on, we need to go." _

They stopped off at Starbucks on the way into the Lightman Group for more coffee and something far too sweet and sickly that couldn't really be classed as breakfast.

Foster and Lightman were already in and were standing outside the conference room deep in conversation; they stopped abruptly when Loker and Katelyn walked in.

Lightman looked surprised at seeing the two of them together. Loker guessed that after leaving him yesterday to watch the cameras and then seeing him in the lab after his 'discussion' with Katelyn, his boss had come to the conclusion that his researcher had been ditched. Foster on the other hand was looking knowingly at the couple and even gave Katelyn a slight wink as they walked past.

Loker opted to completely ignore both their expressions, he really couldn't care what they thought, he was just happy that he'd been given a second chance. He continued to walk Katelyn up to her office trying to make each step last just that little bit longer.

"_Probably best if we at least try to get some work done today, don't want Lightman to sack us both." _she said softly as they stopped outside her door.

"_Hmm, I'll do my best." _he said brushing a stray strand of hair back behind her ear.

* * *

A slightly longer than appropriate kiss later and Loker was heading to take up his place in the lab for the day. He just had to concentrate on something other than her for seven hours and then he would be on his way home to get ready for date number five.

Fortunately it turned into a busy day. A new case had arrived on the books and although Lightman in recent typical fashion had chosen Torres to take the front seat, Loker was kept occupied scouring CCTV footage.

Foster joined him just after lunch and he was appreciative of the company. He ran through his findings with her and was pleased when she agreed with him on just about everything; it was possibly the first time in the last few weeks that he had turned up something solidly productive.

"_Any plans for tonight?" _Foster asked as she handed Loker the disc he'd just ejected from the machine. She had a look in her eyes that said she already knew the answer.

"_Er, yeah actually. I have a date." _

"_So how many will that make it?"_

"_Number five, officially my longest run yet." _he said leaning back in his chair.

Foster patted his knee in a slightly 'proud mother' kind of way and changed the topic back to work. Loker was secretly relieved that she hadn't asked anything more; he felt strangely protective about this relationship - almost as if it were something fragile that he wanted to keep safe from the outside world, just for a little longer anyway.

He turned his attention back to work for the final few hours of the day.

* * *

Loker buzzed the intercom and made his way up to her apartment. He had a very good feeling about tonight; and had even gone totally against his usual self by picking up a bouquet of yellow roses.

"_Given the severe lack of just about anything in your apartment; I thought I would bring you these to liven it up," _he said handing her the roses; _"and this too." _he finished, presenting her with a rectangular package.

She put the flowers in a glass vase, placing them carefully in the centre of the kitchen table and turned her attention to the gift. It had been a last minute idea and had involved interrupting Lightman again to get access to the cameras, but this time Loker felt it was good decision.

Katelyn pulled off the paper, _"Oh Eli." _

"_Do you like it?" _

It was a photograph; their kiss this morning had all been captured on the CCTV and Loker had taken a screen capture from the recorded footage. A quick trip out at lunch to buy a stylish silver frame had completed his gift.

She looked up from the picture, _"I love it." _

He couldn't quite decipher her expression but quickly forgot about it when she kissed him; he wrapped both arms around her waist and lifted her over to the front door. Putting her down and breaking their kiss, he took the photograph out of her hand, placing it down on the table by the door.

"_If we keep doing that then we'll never get anywhere." _he said with a smirk.

"_As long as we have take away menus we'd be ok." _she replied adjusting the frame so it stood up correctly.

"_I can do better than a take away tonight." _

* * *

"_Are we there yet?" _Katelyn was being purposefully annoying and Loker wasn't going to give in.

"_Nearly."_

"_And where is there?"_

"_For the fifth time, I'm not telling you." _he replied rolling his eyes, although he couldn't help laughing at her pout.

"_I thought you'd like a surprise."_

"_I do like surprises, but you gave me some sugar earlier and its gone to my head." _she quipped.

"_Kissing's off limits for the rest of the night then." _his tone produced another pout from Katelyn; he shrugged and turned his head away from her trying to keep his serious demeanour in place.

"_You don't mean that." _she said nudging his knee with her own.

Loker pretended to be thinking it over before turning back to her.

"_So you're a deception expert now?" _he asked leaning towards her.

Loker grinned when he watched her face change into her press persona.

"_That question is not based on any significant evidence." _

"_Ok; but you're calling me a liar." _he moved closer again trying to make her falter.

"_There's nothing to verify that allegation." _her answers were short and quick as if she was dealing with a journalist hell bent on twisting every word.

"_Alright; so you're not a deception expert and I'm not a liar; but I think you'd have the harder job of not kissing me all night than vice versa." _

"_Consider this a pre-verdict briefing; I am requesting an embargo on your version of events until the final results have been verified. I'm sure you'd only want to make it an official statement if your facts were correct."_

He was hovering dangerously close to her lips by the time she finished speaking; it appeared that a challenge had been set and not liking to lose, he was going to try his best to win. Her face still hadn't faltered although her eyes said otherwise; he was fairly sure his were giving him away too.

"_That'll be fifteen dollars." _The cab driver interrupted the moment.

They'd arrived at his surprise.


	8. Chapter 8

Author Note: Thank to those who have reviewed and to those who have tagged me as a favourite story. I hope you're liking how this is going. I was listening to Eva Cassidy the other day which inspired this chapter's content (I'm definitely not aiming for a Mary Sue and I hope Katelyn doesn't come across as one at all!!!) I just wanted them to have something a bit more in common than the Lightman Group as an employer.

Please continue to review as it really does motivate me to keep on rambling…

* * *

"_Hey Loker, what can I get you?" _

"_Er, I'll have a beer and a white wine please Sam."_

"_You brought a date? I always thought your ladies man talk was all show?" _

"_No the talk was true; I just never liked any of them enough to bring them here." _

"_Fair enough, so who is she?" _the bartender scanned the crowded room.

"_Her name is Katelyn, she works with me; she's over there." _replied Loker pointing towards the booths on the other side of the room.

"_Ah, office romance. She's a pretty one." _said Sam, putting the drinks on the bar.

"_She's more than that." _said Loker with an unexpected smile.

"_Well hope you have a good night then." _responded Sam with a sly wink as he took Loker's cash and handed back some change.

"_Thanks mate." _

_

* * *

_"_Here you go." _he said putting the wine in front of Katelyn and sliding into the seat next to her.

"_Thanks, this really is a great place; I've walked past it before and always wanted to stop in but I've never had the chance." _her voice was sincere and Loker was pleased that his last minute surprise location had fulfilled a minor wish of hers.

Loker liked sitting on this side of the room; the booths were quite private and although he always came here alone he didn't like to be drawn into small talk with strangers at nearby tables. He had been coming to this music café for years now and it hadn't changed; it was all dark wood, soft leather and dim lighting except for the spotlights on the stage. It was quite a small place but always popular; there was a wide selection of instruments set up on the stage and anybody could play or sing anything so it was totally random as to what music could be on.

"_Do you come her often?" _she asked before taking a sip of her wine.

"_What a terrible chat up line." he said mockingly casuing Katelyn to roll her eyes. _

"_A few times a month; especially if its been a tough day." _he replied seriously.

"_Do you ever go up on stage?"_

"_Sometimes." _

"_And what about tonight?" _she looked at him expectantly.

"_Well, I hadn't planned to and I didn't bring my guitar." _

"_Oh," _she looked disappointed; _"that's a shame." _

"_I just didn't think it would be polite to leave you sitting here alone" _

"_Ah I get it; you're really just worried that some good looking man might swoop in and carry me away?"_

"_You caught me," _he replied pretending to look sheepish; _"seriously though, I'm used to playing in front of strangers but I care about your opinion and it makes me a little nervous." _

Katelyn smiled and put her hand over his, _"Ok, would you play if I went up there with you?" _

"_Huh?" _Loker was a tad confused at her question.

"_I mean, I'm no Mariah Carey but I can carry a tune so I've been told." _

"_You'd really go up there?" _

"_Why are you so surprised? Most of my job involves "performing" in one way or another I'd be out of work if I got stage fright. Plus if it means I'd get to hear you play then I'd definitely go for it." _as she spoke, her finger traced a pattern in the palm of his hand sending shivers up his arm.

Loker looked towards the stage at the guy who was currently attempting to entertain the crowd; unfortunately he didn't seem to have been playing the piano for long and his rendition of Bon Jovi's It's My Life had more than a few duff notes.

"_Well, we couldn't do worse than him I suppose." _

"_So what'll it be? Or am I going to be the one to leave you sitting her alone?" _her voice was playful and she leaned in closer to him; Loker nearly forgot about their earlier challenge and pulled back just before his lips met hers.

"_Sneaky, very sneaky." _he said scolding her as she giggled at her almost successful ploy, _"best go distract ourselves."_

Loker stood up to go and put their names on the play list; when he came back Katelyn was engrossed in the next act on the stage and she was starting to look a little unsure of her decision.

"_Couple more and then its us." _he said sitting back down in the booth.

"_This was a bad idea - I'm definitely not as good as her." _she said shaking her head, still staring at the act on stage.

"_Thought you said you didn't get stage fright?" _he commented lightly, really hoping that she wouldn't back out. Katelyn started running her foot gently up and down his leg and Loker's thoughts went straight back to this morning; she'd started playing with his hand again too.

"_I'm sure I'll be ok, especially if I can get a little of that sugar first." _her voice was almost sultry and Loker found himself leaning towards her again.

"_You are not playing fair!" _he protested when he realised that for the second time in a few minutes he had nearly kissed her.

She laughed; _"I'm sorry, but considering I'm an open book a hundred per cent of the time I'm with you, I just figured I'd use some of my feminine skills to even things up a little." _

Despite her promising to be truthful around him and the fact that she didn't keep up her press attitude anymore; his skills at reading her seemed to be on the fritz lately, he should have been able to spot that she was teasing him; not that he minded in the slightest - he was enjoying the feelings that this relationship was giving him regardless if she was toying with him a little.

"_Ok, apology accepted." _he tried to make his acceptance sound begrudging.

"_So, seeing that our debut is almost upon us, what are we going to do?" _she asked changing the subject back to their impending performance.

Loker realised that he didn't even know what music she liked; he sincerely hoped that her Mariah Carey reference from earlier was purely a talent comparison rather than a song choice.

"_Well, what music do you like?"_

"_Anything really, it sort of depends what mood I'm in. You know a bit of pop whilst I'm doing my cleaning, chill out for time in the bath tub." _her answer didn't narrow it down he liked the little revalations she threw in.

"_So you don't have a favourite song?" _he pressed further trying to get her to pick something. He was fairly sure that he could play most things she could possibly suggest and there were music books he could borrow if he needed a little help.

"_I do but it's a little dated and cliché I guess." _she replied looking a little embarrassed.

"_Lets hear it, they'll listen to anything here." _

"_Oh thanks, I'm not sure if that's an insult to me or to the rest of building." _her voice was light and joking as she tried to make out that she was offended. Loker shook his head and smirked; he loved these little exchanges with her, the little quips and witty comments.

"_Come on tell me." _

"_Alright, my favourite song is Somewhere Over the Rainbow, it was actually my grandma's favourite too, she played it a lot so its probably also the safest best for me not forgetting the words." _

They didn't have time to say anymore; their names were being called out.

"_Somewhere Over the Rainbow it is then." _Loker was quick to get up; he'd not actually played in a while and suddenly realised how eager he was to get on the stage; he was even more excited by the fact that this time it would be a duet.

She took his outstretched hand and followed him up the steps to the stage. He put a wooden stool in front of the microphone positioned front and centre of the stage and picked up the acoustic guitar. He put the strap over his head and quickly checked the tuning.

Katelyn sat down reluctantly on the stool; she twisted round and raised her hand to shield her mouth from the audience and whispered, _"How come you get to sit way back there?"_

"_I'm only back up for the singer, plus you're better looking than me, they'd rather see you."_

Katelyn blushed at the compliment and watched him as he finished checking the guitar, he looked up and winked at her, _"Ready when you are." _

She took a deep breath, _"Ok …just if I totally suck, don't tell anyone I know." _

He nodded to appease her and started to play. It was tune he had learnt years ago, funnily enough his grandma had been a fan and when he'd told her he was taking lessons she'd insisted that he learn it.

Loker was impressed when she caught the timing without a hitch and more than a little surprised when he heard her voice. It was soft and calming but her voice definitely wasn't polished enough to consider a career out of singing; her 'carry a tune' analysis had been accurate. Katelyn's usual confidence started to come through after the first verse but she didn't try to go beyond her capabilities. Loker had sort of figured that she would be the one to make a mistake or two so it threw him when he was the one to mess up slightly as he got a little lost in the gentle and uncomplicated sound; he tried to refocus himself but she quickly drew his attention back and before he wanted it to be over it was the end of the song.

The crowd clearly liked it and they got a well deserved round of applause as they made their way back to the booth.

"_You play really well, maybe I can have a private performance later?" _her eyes were bright and Loker was pleased to see that the experience had left her beaming.

Loker didn't really know how to say what he was thinking; something had just clicked into place during the song and he didn't know what that was exactly. This girl was something totally new and brilliant to him; all the clichés about relationships were starting to suddenly make sense. He hadn't felt this strongly before and wasn't sure if the words in his head should actually be spoken yet; it was only their fifth date and a grand total of a month that they had been dating; was she even feeling the same after having experienced it all before?

Loker decided to keep his thoughts to himself for a change and headed to the bar to get more drinks; he tried desperately to come up with a suitable topic for when he got back and they ended up deep in conversation about the most obvious choice - music; an area he at least felt confident to talk about.

"_Hey its after midnight." _she said softly, tilting his wrist to look at his watch.

"_Oh, did you want to go?" _he asked disappointedly, missing her point.

"_No actually I wanted to kiss you - technically it is no longer "tonight", it is "this morning" if that makes sense." _

"_I think I can work with that request." _he answered realising that she was calling their challenge off on a technicality.

Loker didn't waste another second; he tilted his head and pressed his lips against hers. The table was in the way preventing him from taking her body into his arms; he wanted to be closer to her but also wanted to be allowed back in the café again. He stopped reluctantly.

"_Shall we go?" _he asked quietly.

Her eyes told him everything he needed to know.


	9. Chapter 9

Loker opened the door to his apartment scanning his eyes round quickly to see if he had missed any of the mess he had spent 2 hours earlier cleaning up. He concluded that he had done a good enough job and stepped inside; it was the first time she had been here and he didn't want to come across as the typical 'I still live like a student' kind of guy.

"_Can I get you anything?" _he asked moving towards his kitchen.

"_Just you." _her voice was flirtatious.

"_Your chat up lines just keep getting cheesier and cheesier" _he laughed wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her for possibly the thousandth time since they'd left the music café.

Their cab driver had politely ignored them during the drive back to his earning himself an apology tip from Loker; they'd managed to behave themselves during the short walk to his apartment but quite clearly the remainder of their date wasn't going to follow the normal pattern of conversation and a restful nights sleep.

Loker wanted to be romantic by sweeping her off her feet and carrying her to the bedroom but given her previous reservations about the physical side of their relationship he thought it would be a little forward; instead he resolved to let her take the lead tonight.

He wasn't disappointed when she moved her hands, that so far had been entwining themselves in his hair, so that she could start unbuttoning his shirt. Her hands were warm against his skin as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders. Their shoes and her top were also discarded as they moved from the hallway to his bedroom. Loker hadn't quite gauged how close they were to the bed and he felt his knees buckle as he collided with it. He fell back on the mattress heavily; Katelyn however had managed to maintain her balance and was left standing in front of him trying not to laugh.

"_Very smooth," _she joked.

"_What can I say, I think I'm falling for you." _he responded, hoping he had masked his honesty sufficiently in the play on words.

There wasn't a disruption to the mood and she joined him on the bed. As they continued kissing, Loker adjusted his position so that he hovered above her slightly, resting on one arm. Her hands were making light work of his belt buckle and he slowly allowed his free hand to run up the outside of her leg and slightly under her skirt.

Loker relaxed knowing that she was comfortable with how things were going; remembering her reactions from this morning, he moved his lips down to her neck placing small light kisses along her collar bone. She let out a gasp and he moved his hand further up her thigh.

He felt her tense up and her hand flew to his shoulder pushing his arm back.

"_Stop, please, I cant." _her voice was panicked.

"_Are you ok?" _he moved away quickly not sure of what he had done wrong. She sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, her back to him.

"_I don't know. It's just…you're the first since…" _Katelyn sounded scared and upset.

Loker had been worried about this happening, when she'd asked for some time before, he knew it would take a little while for her to get used to the idea of being intimate with another man; but so far tonight he thought she had wanted to go further.

"_It's ok, I understand." _he said trying to sound comforting; he wasn't sure what else he could or should do.

"_It's not ok, its ridiculous" _she now seemed angry and frustrated with herself.

"_Really, we don't have to do anything." _he said, just wanting her to be comfortable with him again.

"_It's just so stupid." _she huffed as she stood up choosing to lean against his wardrobe instead. Her face didn't seem to be able to settle on an emotion as she wrestled with whatever was going round her head.

Loker couldn't help but feel a little inadequate; she understandably still had feelings for Michael and he was suddenly fearful that he wasn't good enough for her. Thing was, if he wanted to be with her, he was going to have to put his feelings aside right now; having a repeat of his previous paranoia wouldn't do his ego any good and it definitely wouldn't make her feel better.

"_I just don't get it," _she sighed, _"Its been long enough so why is there still a part of me that just can't accept that I'm allowed to be happy again?" _

Loker wasn't certain if she was talking to him or being rhetorical but the emotions he was seeing on her face were starting to get to him; he hated seeing her upset or distressed in any way. He climbed out of the bed no longer able to sit and watch her suffer, his initial thought was to go and put his arms around her but maybe it was too soon; instead he hurried to the kitchen and came back with a glass of water.

"_Here." _he said quietly holding out the glass. He stayed standing in front of her trying to figure out what was a respectful distance.

"_Thank you." _she took a sip before looking at him;_ "I'm sorry; and don't say it's ok; I know this cant exactly be easy for you." _

"_Look, just forget about me, I'm meant to be a grown up so I'll be ok. I just want you to be alright with us."_

"_Eli, my actions might not support me but I'm very alright with us. You're the first guy who hasn't written me off after five minutes and you're the only guy I've actually wanted to try and have something with. I'm frustrated with myself that I can't just give in to what I'm feeling." _

Loker felt some of his inadequacy disappear at her brutal honesty, _"We can just take it as slow as you like."_

"_That's just it; I don't want to be restricted by the occasional fleeting thought that may or may not cause me to freak out." _

She took another sip of water; _"Can you give me a minute? Don't go anywhere or stop looking so damn hot." _she said leaving the room.

He heard the bathroom door lock and grinned at her parting compliment; she'd be back to her normal self in a few minutes and whatever was or was not going to happen he really didn't care as long as she came back to him.

Loker had a sudden idea that he guessed would make her feel better; he darted to his cd collection and frantically flicked through the discs; the one he wanted was typically miles away from where he started searching and he only just managed to slide it into the cd player and sit back on the bed to look innocent before she came back.

"_Ok, I just have one question." _she'd taken her make up off and as she stood in the doorway Loker wasn't going to deny her anything.

"_Ask away." _he tried to keep his voice light.

"_The truth as always; do you want me completely for who I am? Freaked out, workaholic; sterile apartment living me." _

"_I couldn't imagine wanting you any other way." _he knew it wasn't the most romantic comment ever but it fit their relationship perfectly.

As he finished talking, she nodded to herself; _"Right then; that settles it." _

She lay back down on the bed gesturing for him to join her; as he did so she took hold of his hand and replaced it just under her hemline as it had been before. He was just about to pick up where they left on when she spoke.

"_Hang on a sec - is this you?" _she was asking about the music playing in the background.

He nodded glad that she had noticed; _"You asked for a private performance; and seeing as though my hands are some what er… occupied, I figured this was the next best thing." _

There was that smile again.

* * *

Author Note: Sorry if I have disappointed anyone by not going all the way to an M rating.

I honestly don't think that a) the story needs it (I want it to be about the relationship) and b) my writing skills could pull through without making me feel embarassed or turning it into something totally cheesy and cliched. So hopefully you'll be ok with my decision and continue to read and review. As a consolation prize for anyone who isn't happy; another chapter will be up in a jiffy I promise!


	10. Chapter 10

Author Note:

Hello - given that I'm back at work again tomorrow after a little Easter break and stupidly decided to start some decorating today even though I totally don't have enough time to finish it now - I cant be sure when a new chapter may be forthcoming as I will need to finish what I have started in the mess that is my house.

I hope you're all still enjoying the story although I'm getting the feeling that I need to wrap it up a little or I could end up rambling on for ever.

On those excuses I have made this chapter a little longer that previous ones and have also decided to not only fast forward a bit but also to shake things up a tad for Loker.

Please review - it'll help me decide how I want to wrap it all up.

* * *

They'd been dating for almost nine months and Loker was possibly the happiest he'd ever been. His permanent good mood had clearly had an effect on Lightman's perspective of him; his boss had been involving him more and more in the interesting cases rather than just leaving him stuck in the lab and Loker was very pleased at this new development.

Their recent cases had been quite popular with the media so Katelyn had been out of the office a lot; although there weren't any real work reasons for them to cross paths during the day, she would always stop by at some point, even for just a few minutes. He would look forward to her random appearances and was disappointed knowing that he wouldn't get one today.

Katelyn was out at a live press conference. It was a joint one with the local Police following the arrest of several leaders of a drugs ring. The Lightman Group had been brought in to find out about the next planned shipment, plus anything else they could dig up about suppliers, dealers and users. It was a bit of a random case with no real aims as such; but someone high up felt that Lightman would speed up the investigations - these men were dangerous and they needed to be put behind bars fast.

Katelyn hadn't been happy about how the press situation had been handled - someone had said rather too much and received a lot of attention in return. As a result the detectives on the case decided to go public to try and get as much information as possible and make themselves look good in the process; the men were well known and the drugs that had been seized so far was considered to be a rather large feather in the Police Department's cap. Nevertheless, she didn't want the detectives fielding questions on The Lightman Group's involvement.

Unfortunately Lightman and Foster weren't quite so positive about the case as the Police were. They'd held a few initial interviews with the felons and there was plenty of anger, hate and contempt appearing - regardless of the Police's view that it was an easy win; they'd sent Reynolds along with Katelyn to keep an eye on things. He had complained heavily when Loker had kitted him out with the personal cameras and recording equipment.

Loker watched her on screen from the news channel rather than Reynolds's camera - the agent kept moving too much constantly scanning the crowd; the camera man on the news however was fixed on the podium. As usual she was totally calm; despite the constant camera flashes and the jostling for her attention she delivered her answers with precision and finesse.

It was early September and the weather was still pleasant; the Police really had glammed this up with a full on stage outside their building; usually it was a spare office with a well placed backdrop rather than a theatrical performance. It almost looked like some kind of graduation with a glass podium centre stage and a row of chairs behind for anyone with a rank who wanted to get their face on TV. The camera man panned out to a wider shot and Loker huffed in annoyance, he liked the close up view.

Lightman walked into the lab; _"Found anything yet?"_

His boss saw the maximised news channel; there was no way Loker could have been getting anything from Reynolds's camera when it was only a few inches big in the corner of the screen.

"_Clearly not, too busy watching your girlfriend." _his voice was sarcastic as usual.

"_Leave him alone Cal, he's in love." _Retorted Foster as she came in behind him.

Loker cringed at the way she held onto the word 'love' and almost let it slip into a baby voice. Despite Loker's strong feelings they hadn't made that exchange yet and regardless of what the their colleagues could or could not see, Loker was not going to let them dictate the pace of his relationship. Foster had got it right though as usual; he had been wanting to say those three words for a few months now but hadn't quite found the right moment. Choosing not to comment, he turned his attention back to the TV screen.

"_Oi" _Lightman kicked the back of his chair.

"_Fine, I'll turn it off." _he didn't try to hide his irritation.

He reached for the keyboard deliberately slowly but froze when an explosion shook the image in front of him. The camera man had fallen and the image became a shot of swirling grass and blue sky; Loker stared at the screen wide eyed trying to comprehend what had just happened.

The camera man managed to get back on his feet and directed the camera back in the right direction - Katelyn had been behind the glass podium and now the podium had disappeared behind a plume of smoke and flames. Police swarmed in front of the camera man pushing him back; then the news feed went blank and the studio people started to babble holding explanations for what they had seen.

Lightman shoved Loker out of the way to get to the keyboard; he pulled up Reynolds's camera feed and they watched as he pushed his way through the panicked crowd of journalists and police into what was left of the shattered platform.

"_Reynolds what's going on?" _Lightman was trying to get through to the ear piece.

"_Don't know yet; looks like some… kind of explosive was rigged …underneath the platform." _He was breathless as he fought his way through twisted metal and splintered wood_. "It was quite a small device though… given the blast radius; nobody in the crowd… seems to have been hurt that badly" _

Loker hadn't realised Foster appear at his side and place a hand on his shoulder, seeing the debris and bleeding bodies she squeezed down and let out a gasp. Loker selfishly didn't care about the other people; he only wanted to see where Katelyn was; he became frustrated as Reynolds kept stoping to help the injured detectives and officers get out of the wreckage.

Through the microphone they could hear ambulances and fire engines arriving in the background - Reynolds lifted up a large piece of tangled metal and tossed it aside reaching out to take hold of the hand that emerged from underneath it.

"_Kate" _he bent down to help her up. She was incredibly unsteady on her feet and Loker could see blood; he felt Foster's hand tense again on his shoulder.

Reynolds easily lifted Katelyn into his arms; the camera on his lapel became partially blocked by her body. He clambered back over the debris to safety and set her down on the street unblocking the camera view; she struggled against him.

"_I can't breathe." _she complained pushing his arms away and trying to take off her suit jacket; Loker saw her face crease in pain as she struggled with the motion; he couldn't clearly see what was hurting her though.

A paramedic appeared at her side forcing Reynolds to step back, as he did so he removed the camera pin so they couldn't see what was happening. The lab phone rang and Lightman got to it first; Loker watched his face trying to glean anything off the conversation but his boss turned away leaving his researcher even more frustrated and fearful.

Lightman put the phone down and rotated slowly back round, "_We need to get to the hospital, come on." _he held his hand out towards Foster and Loker, gesturing them to move.

"_Cal, what happened?" _Foster's voice oozed concern and fear.

"_Just come on love, we need to go, you too Loker, get up."_

Loker couldn't get his head round what he had just seen and now the word hospital was involved. He pushed himself up out of the chair as if on auto pilot and allowed himself to be guided by Foster to Lightman's car. She sat in the back with him rubbing his arm gently. Loker couldn't settle on an emotion; should he be angry or afraid; he didn't know, his feelings for her were rushing around his head and he didn't know what he was supposed to do.

Lightman ditched his car not far from the entrance and Reynolds met them outside the main doors, the front of his shirt was stained with blood.

"_They've just taken her down to surgery." _he said leading them into the hospital.

"_Surgery?" _Loker's voice was quiet and disbelieving.

Reynolds, took Lightman to one side, _"We're guessing it was an inside job what with the bomb being right under the podium; someone bought out by the gang leaders - figures really drugs and corrupt police."_

"_And how is she?" _Lightman kept his voice hushed aware that Loker was only a few feet away.

"_Looks like a piece of glass from the podium went through her shoulder; not sure how bad it is though. I need to get back out there and help figure out what's happened."_

"_Will someone tell me what's going on please?" _Loker settled on anger but his voice didn't match his emotions; rather than being demanding it came out more strangled and weak.

Lightman looked at Reynolds; _"Ok, off you go; check in later." _

Reynolds, didn't hesitate but put a hand on Loker's shoulder as he passed him. No words were exchanged but Loker could see concern in his eyes; his emotions started to build.

"_If she's hurt, I want to know." _Loker knew it was a stupid statement, they were in a hospital after having watched her bleeding and crying 'I can't breathe' - of course she was hurt.

"_Maybe you should sit down." _suggested Foster carefully.

"_I don't want to sit down, I want someone to tell me what's happening." _This time the anger had caught up for real.

"_Alright, just take it easy." _Lightman raised his hands as he spoke; before he could explain the situation, a Doctor approached them.

"_I saw you with Agent Reynolds, I assume you're here for Katelyn Harris?" _the doctor asked with a genuine sympathetic smile.

"_Yeah, that's us." _said Lightman spinning on the spot to face the man.

"_My name is Doctor Cresswell, maybe we should go somewhere more quiet?" _he asked gesturing towards a side room. They followed him in silently and he shut the door behind them.

"_Before I go on, is one of you Max Thompson?" _he asked checking his paper work then moving his gaze between Loker and Lightman.

Loker shifted uncomfortably on the spot; he'd met Max officially a few months ago along with her other friends; as much as Loker hadn't wanted to like him he had found it difficult not to. Max obviously cared about Katelyn a lot and although Loker was intensely jealous of their closeness he'd learnt his lesson before.

"_It's just that he's down as next of kin so usually we'd be speaking to him first."_

It was another blow to Loker's confused heart although he wasn't sure why he expected anything different; she had no family so who else was she going to have?

"_No, he er… runs a night club so he probably isn't even up yet." _responded Loker quietly; the doctors question dredging up those previously buried feelings of inadequacy.

"_Not a problem, we've left a message for him anyway..."_

"_Doctor, can you just tell us how she is please?" _Foster interrupted, her voice impatient and concerned.

"_Of course. She's still in surgery at the moment but everything looks ok. A piece of glass pierced her left shoulder'; it went in quite deep but it looks like it missed everything important so she should be fine. She took a nasty bump to the head too but hopefully that'll be nothing more than a headache and a mild concussion at most when she wakes up." _

The doctor's voice was almost patronising but Loker stopped hearing it and decided that he needed to sit down; he collapsed into one of the soft chairs heavily unsure if he should be relieved that she was going to be fine; or if he should still be angry that she was hurt in the first place. Foster came and perched on the chair next to him, still paying attention to the doctor.

"_You're more than welcome to wait here until she comes out, we'll let you know more as soon as we can."_

"_Thanks," _said Lightman closing the door behind the doctor. He breathed out heavily as he turned back to Foster and Loker.

"_Are you ok?" _Foster touched Loker's knee.

He didn't answer at first; if he lied, they'd know, not that they would necessarily pick him up on it; he opted for honesty as always.

"_I don't know, still in shock I guess." _

"_Do you want us to stay here with you?" _she asked quietly.

Loker realised that Reynolds had said it was probably the same gang that had arranged the explosion so Lightman was probably itching to go back and get on with this 'new development' in the case.

"_No, it's ok, you guys can go, I'll call you later." _it was a lie and an obvious one.

"_Foster, you stay here; Torres can help me out." _

Loker looked up appreciatively at his boss who gave him a sympathetic look before leaving the room. Foster followed him out.

"_Keep an eye on him, he's not looking so good." _

"_Don't worry I will" _replied Foster as she walked Lightman back to his car.

She came back into the room with two coffees; Loker hadn't moved from his slumped position in the chair.

"_Here," _she said offering the drink and taking a seat next to him.

Loker took it and although it was still too hot, he took a big gulp anyway. It burned his throat but did the trick to shake him out of his stupor.

"_I don't understand how days can suddenly just change on you." _he said almost to himself.

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Well you know how some days we know its going to be a tough one; but today was so…normal. This morning we were having breakfast together, and I told her off for leaving loads of milk at the bottom of the bowl again because she doesn't like it without cereal, but she always puts on more than she needs." _

It was such a random comment that Foster didn't have anything really to follow it up with, instead she went with a question that nobody else had raised since they'd started dating.

"_So how is going with you two?"_

Loker knew she wasn't trying to pry but it was a question he hadn't really thought about truthfully; he knew that she'd had the serious relationship before - thinking about their future left him anxious that he wouldn't match up. He bypassed the question slightly knowing that Foster would probably be the only person he could talk through this with seriously.

"_Did you know she was married?"_

"_Yes, she told me not long after she started. Divorce isn't quite the same situation but she just wanted someone to talk to who understood." _

Loker wasn't really surprised at this news; Foster was not only an approachable person but she had that mothering instinct that encouraged people to open up to her.

"_I just feel kinda…inadequate."_

"_How so?" _her voice betrayed the psychologist in her.

"_She doesn't talk about him at all but I was curious so I asked a few questions, I suppose its my own fault really." _he paused remembering what he'd asked, _"I don't know, its nothing in particular but I just get this feeling that I'll never match up to him - she loved him enough to marry him and she knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him - how do I compete with that?"_

"_What makes you think it's a competition?"_

Loker was confused, why wouldn't it be - she had to be comparing at least on some level.

Seeing his expression, Foster continued_, "When she came to talk to me after your little misdemeanour with the CCTV cameras, this was exactly what she was worried about. She thought you'd taken it maybe a little too well and figured that somewhere down the line you'd mull it over and realise that something didn't sit right for you."_

Ok, so Katelyn may not have had any deception training but she'd read him like a book!

"_She isn't comparing at all; she knows you're not him, she doesn't want you to be him - she wants to be with because of who you are and how you make her feel." _Foster stressed the word 'you' each time.

Loker didn't respond and Foster didn't go on; instead she stood up and smoothed out her dress.

"_I'll go and see what's happening." _

He knew she was giving him some space to think about what she'd said and that she had been telling him the truth; problem was he just couldn't quite believe he could be more to her than just a nice guy to date; after all, he had nothing to compare his feelings to - Katelyn had a marriage.

A few minutes later Foster came back into the small room; she stayed standing near the door.

"_She's out of surgery and everything went fine. She should be awake soon; you can go and see her whenever y__ou're ready." _

Loker nodded slowly and looked down at the floor prompting Foster to repeat her question from earlier; _"Are you ok?" _

"_I still feel second best if that's what you mean" _Loker was shocked by his own level of honesty; the thoughts he'd been having summed up in a single phrase.

Foster sighed heavily and took a few steps forward to crouch in front of him as if she were speaking to a child.

"_Loker, do you want to know something?" _

He nodded uncertain of what she would tell him.

"_All she talks about is you; her eyes practically sparkle when she even thinks about you and if anyone even mentions your name she can't remotely hide the smile on her face." _

Her words came out sharply as if she was telling him off for being so self doubting on just how much he meant to Katelyn; the change from her usual mothering style was enough to make him question his take on the last nine months. Foster pulled herself upright and backed away from him waiting for him to make a decision about going to see Katelyn; when he didn't move she offered to go outside to update Lightman and Reynolds.

Loker was alone again questioning himself. He'd been watching all the time to make sure Katelyn was comfortable and he'd never been given any reason to doubt her motives for being with him; he just hadn't fully appreciated how happy he made her even when he wasn't physically there.

His mind worked back over everything trying to see if he missed something. He stopped on the memory of their fifth date; how she'd panicked - frightened by her own self doubts when they'd tried to take things further. All she'd needed was a few minutes to get over it and she been back in his arms a hundred per cent sure of her feelings and here he was nine months down the line still picking over the details of every conversation and every expression.

Of course it wasn't new to her - a long term relationship was totally fresh ground to him; it was harder work than a one night stand or a few dates because it meant actually letting someone in. Radical honesty had been his way of coping with the world but the number of knock backs he got from people left him building a wall around other parts of himself; Katelyn had pretty much bulldozed through it the minute she forgave him for his jealous outburst all those months ago.

Those three words appeared in his head again; he hadn't said it to anyone before and unlike his virginity he felt it was something worth saving for the right person; he laughed wryly at his own thoughts - the right person was Katelyn and he'd known it since she sang with him at the music café. Loker decided that he had to tell her he loved her, regardless of what she might think; he shouldn't wait any longer.

A nagging voice in his head told him to shut up and stop being so stupid - he'd had plenty of romantic nights out or casual shared moments to tell her that he'd dismissed as wrong or inopportune and now he was going to tell her in one of the most clichéd ways imaginable - right after that tragic moment when he thought he'd lost her forever. Loker scolded himself for being so unoriginal and blamed the number of chick flicks he had ended up watching at her apartment; he laughed out loud at his hastiness. He knew he'd missed the perfect chance to tell her the morning after that fifth date when they lay next to each other; she'd made him re-play his CD wanting to listen to it properly and she'd softly sang along to the tunes she'd recognised.

He should have told her then but now he would wait for another moment like that - there would be plenty.


	11. Chapter 11

Author note: Ok, so here is the last chapter. I hope you've enjoyed reading the story - please feel free to leave some departing reviews.

* * *

Katelyn was discharged from the hospital after only a couple of days sporting a sling and a rather large easter egg shaped bruise to the side of her head. Lightman had threatened to sack her if she didn't stay away from work for at least a couple of weeks but that hadn't stopped Katelyn from sending Loker in to rescue her laptop from under her desk - he didn't agree with it, taking Lightman's side that she should rest up; but knowing that she would probably only stress about work anyway he'd reluctantly agreed.

Lightman had quite generously given Loker a few days off too; he hadn't ever been put in a position where he'd had to look after someone before but after watching her try to get dressed when she couldn't lift her left arm, he took to his new responsibilities quite well.

"_You shouldn't be doing that!" _he scolded as he caught her trying to slice a carrot one handed.

She had it pinned to the counter with the elbow of her 'slinged' arm and was precariously slicing through it with a large knife - Loker had to admit that she was doing rather well but he didn't fancy another wait in hospital.

"_Give it here," _he said lightly taking the knife and finishing the job_, "what do you want carrot for anyway?" _

She cringed a little and he prepared himself for a bout of radical honesty.

"_No offence Eli, its been four days and you've been a big help but I don't think I can eat another frozen ready meal or something that started life as a packet mix." _

He chuckled, her cooking skills really did put his to shame, _"Ok so what are we making then?" _

"_I was thinking something simple like chicken casserole?" _

"_Simple...right, how do I do that?" _

She giggled; _"Bless, I knew you weren't exactly Martha Stewart but I'd have thought you could have coped with some fresh ingredients without supervision." _

"_I'm glad I amuse you, but I suggest if you would like an edible meal you stop making fun of me and take it back to basics." _

Loker tried to sound offended but he loved to make her laugh, whatever the circumstances.

"_Alright, I'll behave." _

"_Thank you, now how do I catch the chicken?" _

* * *

The meal came out alright and Loker was secretly impressed with himself; she'd cooked for him a lot and he'd never really been able to repay the efforts. He finished the washing up and joined her on the couch. Given the site of her injury she couldn't cuddle up to him as usual so for the past few evenings she'd taken to lying down with her legs dangling over the arm of the couch and her head in his lap. The only frustration for Loker was that he couldn't kiss her that way - it wasn't for lack of trying, he just didn't quite bend in the right place.

"_Can I tell you something?" _she asked quietly looking up at him.

"_Anything, as long as its not another criticism of my cooking skills, I don't think my ego could take anymore tonight." _

She laughed softly; _"Its not anything like that I promise." _

"_Ok then, tell away." _

"_Right, this isn't quite how I wanted to say it but something repeatedly seems to be telling me that life is too short and shouldn't waste any more time…" _

Katelyn paused deciding that she wanted to be upright for whatever she was about to say; carefully she hoisted herself up swinging her legs back round so she could face him.

"_Gosh its going to sound cheesy however I do it." _she complained; obviously her upright status hadn't solved whatever dilemma was in her head.

Loker realised what she was going to say; after his time to think in the hospital he'd felt that he'd wait till she was feeling better; he wanted her to know that he meant it, not that he was just feeling sympathetic or concerned for her. They were such important words for him to say that he'd wanted the moment to be perfect; however, here she was sitting in front of him preparing to say them regardless of anything and Loker realised that was exactly how it should be. He had been wrong to think that there was a right time, a right place or a right way.

"_Wait a second." _he held his hand up to stop her.

Loker leant forward gently placing his right hand to her neck, his thumb resting on her cheek, he took a moment to take in the exquisite look of anticipation on her face before kissing her.

He pulled back slowly staying inches from her lips; _"Kate," _his voice was barely a whisper.

"_Mmmm," _she tried to make contact with him and he moved a little further wanting to get the words out first. He kept his eyes closed but could tell that that she was holding her breath; his heart hammered in his chest.

"_I love you." _

He could feel her pulse quicken under his fingertips and he caressed her cheek lightly as he closed the distance between them again.

Flashes of what else they could have together raced through his head and Loker didn't want the kiss to end in case he woke up and the last nine months had never happened; but this kiss was different, something had changed for the better. The way she responded to his lips confirmed that she loved him too; he didn't need to hear her say it right now, he could tell without a doubt.


	12. ONE SHOT  The New Apartment

**Author Note:**

Righteo, so following a suggestion from one of my lovely reviewers (Fishy Rainboots) to maybe try and do a couple of one shots and coupled with the fact that the second half of S2 is now on in the UK, here I go….

Now I don't profess to know anything about the US housing market so please forgive me if my choice of apartment is unrealistic in any way, shape or form. Hopefully the story will overpower any faulty technical details.

Please review and please add your suggestions for what scenario you might like to see if I go for another One Shot…

* * *

_"What about this one?" _said Loker passing the paper across the table to Katelyn.

She looked up from her magazine and took a fleeting glance at the add wrinkling her nose as she read it.

Loker sighed, _"What's wrong with this one?"_

"_The ad says 'quaint', that's spiel for old-fashioned, dated and grannified." _she replied pushing the paper back over and returning her gaze to Cosmo.

"_Fine, that one then," _Loker landed his finger on another listing before the paper made it back to his side of the table.

She rolled her eyes but looked anyway, _"Cosy, so basically small - we have far too much stuff between us to manage with cosy."_

Loker decided to give up, they'd been looking for a new apartment for the past few weeks but between case work preventing them from making it out to look at any in real life and Katelyn's knack with word spinning weeding out the time wasters they hadn't had much luck.

They'd spent most of their time at Katelyn's in the year and half they'd been dating as it was closer to work but Loker wasn't complaining, he hadn't had regular home made meals and weekly washed sheets since he'd left his parent's house. However he was starting to get frustrated with having his stuff split over two places and it was getting a little pointless for them both to be paying rent.

It had taken a trip back to his place one weekend and realising that his refrigerator had a rather unpleasant opened three week old carton of milk in it for Loker to broach the subject of moving in together. They talked about moving into Katelyn's apartment but for Loker it was a bit too sterile, equally his place was too guy orientated for her so they decided to start afresh with one that would suit them as a couple. It was proving more difficult that either of them had first thought though.

Loker looked back down at the paper feeling despondent until an image of a factory block caught his eye. He read the ad mentally ticking off the features and slowly slid the paper back across to Katelyn a grin spreading across his face.

Seeing his face she didn't sigh or roll her eyes, instead she quickly picked the paper up studying the ad far more carefully than any of his earlier suggestions.

"_A two bedroom modern unfurnished apartment, part of a factory renovation now available. The apartment is finished to a high standard with secure entry system and allocated parking. Entrance Hall leading to open plan Lounge and Kitchen, Bedrooms and Bathroom with double shower and bath tub to the back. Communal Garden."_

Loker couldn't wait for her to finish reading the short blurb, _"Well?" _

Katelyn didn't reply her features not giving away her thoughts, instead she picked up her mobile and started dialling, Loker held his breath wondering what she was doing.

"_Hi there, can I arrange a viewing for the two bed apartment on Montrose Avenue?" _

Loker smiled and punched the air in triumph.

"_Yes, professional couple…previous references…cash deposit." _she continued, answering the person on the phone using her press officer voice and scribbling notes around the side of the ad.

"_Ok then, we'll see you tomorrow evening." _she hung up and put the mobile back on the table, "_Sorted, although we best get out of work on time - no excuses." _

"_Fine by me." _Loker kept grinning pleased to have found a viable option.

* * *

A couple of weeks later Loker was signing his name on the paperwork next to Katelyn's. Their tenancies on their old apartments didn't end until the following week but it gave them time to move out, what with Lightman piling more work on rather than offering time off to move.

He handed the pen back to the letting agent who passed over the keys in exchange.

"_Thank you," _said the agent putting away the completed documents in his briefcase and making his way to the door, _"I hope you'll be very happy here." _

"_I'm sure we will," _replied Loker putting his arm instinctively around Katelyn's shoulders, he felt a rush of warmth as she leaned into him, her right arm moving around his waist.

And then they were alone in their empty new apartment.

It was the perfect blend of new design with a sleek black and white kitchen and wooden floors combined with the original brickwork and large window features of the factory. They'd blown the budget out the water but one look at the place had been all it had taken to convince them both that this was the perfect apartment for them.

"_You do know the hard part is still to come?" _said Katelyn turning to move both arms around him.

Loker raised his eyebrow unsure of what she meant.

She smiled tilting her head slightly to look over his shoulder at the empty space, _"Well we have two lots of stuff to fit in somewhere so there are some interesting negotiations ahead." _

"_You've already decided where you want everything haven't you?" _

She looked sheepish, _"Not quite."_

* * *

Packing up their old lives hadn't been that hard really.

A day at Lokers had mainly seen him disposing of numerous items of clothing including a not so stylish denim jacket from the 90's and an iridescent brown shirt from his teenage days. He'd wanted to keep it but after Katelyn made him try it on he could see why she was laughing, it was 2 inches too short on both arms and wouldn't even do up around his chest, he hadn't realised how skinny he'd been.

Katelyn's wardrobe had been far less embarrassing fashion wise but Loker had rather enjoyed finding a hidden stash of photographs from previous holidays with her friends. She'd clearly forgotten they were there and Loker had managed to get through three albums before she'd realised what he'd been looking at. He'd enjoyed making her turn beetroot red as he asked her to explain several comprising situations clearly not becoming of a refined press officer.

Despite getting rid of a large amount of hoarded rubbish, the removal van was full to bursting with their stuff and getting it to the fourth floor of the building, even with the elevator was going to take time.

Katelyn had managed to convince Max to get out of bed early with the promise of getting the first invite for a dinner party and Adam, Loker's friend from college, had been persuaded with the offer a few cold beers. However, both friends had baulked at the site of the lorry when they opened the doors and Loker didn't need to be able to read faces to see their regret at accepting the friendly request.

"_Where do you want this?" _Loker's voice was strained under the weight of the couch having spent the last fifteen minutes trying to negotiate it out of the elevator through the door.

"_I'm voting for right here," _Adam replied as he unsuccessfully tried to use his leg to prop up his end and take some of the weight off his arms.

"_Yeah but then you won't be able to get the bed in," _said Katelyn seriously as she carried on completely preoccupied with unpacking boxes in the kitchen without looking over at the struggling men.

"_Can I get in the room please?" _Max's voice was muffled behind a stack of boxes as he queued in the hallway.

"_Seriously Kate, my arm will fall off." _Adam moaned as he shuffled a bit further forward to let Max through the door.

"_Well it would possibly make sense to put it in front of the coffee table and next to the TV, having it in the bedroom will just be awkward."_

Loker suppressed a laugh as his friend rolled his eyes; they heaved the couch over to the spot that now seemed so obvious.

Adam sat down heavily on the couch and Loker joined him, his muscles grateful for the reprieve. Katelyn had been unpacking and moving bits of furniture around whilst they'd been bringing it upstairs, at first he had thought she was simply copping out of repeat runs to the van but each time he came back upstairs the apartment looked more like a home.

"_Tell you what boys, you stay here and rest up for a few minutes, I'll go down for some more stuff." _She handed them a beer each before disappearing to the van.

"_I tell you what mate, I think she could be the one." _Said Adam taking a swig of the cool beverage, _"Any woman who's first priority is to get the beers in the fridge is a keeper."_

Loker nodded not wanting to reply, truth was when he'd asked her to move in other ideas for next steps in their relationship had started to cross his mind. He hadn't ever really believed in the relationship clichés until he met Katelyn but increasingly he was wanting everything that he'd ever read about, listened to in music and watched in the movies.

A few minutes later Katelyn reappeared carrying a large box marked 'books' she hefted it onto the kitchen counter and let out a deep breath.

"_See heavy stuff is no problem, you just need to put your back into it." _she mocked lightly feigning wiping sweat from her brow.

Loker studied her face and posture from across the room, smelling a rat he stood up from the couch and crossed slowly across to the kitchen. He saw her tense slightly then relax at his decision to come over.

"_Books, a weighty choice." _he stated casually lifting one hand up towards the top of the box. Katelyn's hand quickly intercepted his as she moved to try and block his access to the box, her hazel eyes showing nothing but mischief.

"_Well I figured I would get one of the heavier ones out the way, leave you with the easier stuff like pillows and pot plants." _

She shifted again so she was fully between him and the box, placing his hand on her waist and raising her arms to his shoulders.

Loker's suspicions were confirmed as a flash of a smile crossed her features, he made a bolder move for the box quickly wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her to one side. Opening the lid he was met with giggles from Katelyn as he revealed the heavy contents of the box to actually be a selection of plastic mixing bowls and kitchen utensils.

She lifted the marker pen out of her pocket and just smiled at him.

"_You bought the books up first remember, Adam complained they were too heavy and you had debate with him over the pros and cons of books on tape." _she chuckled.

* * *

It had been a long day but they were officially moved in. At first glance you would have thought they'd been in the apartment forever, there were no boxes in the main room or their bedroom - instead the remaining few had been stacked up the second bedroom for another day.

Loker couldn't fault any of her choices for where their possessions should go - his brown leather armchair had been teamed with her cream couch and heavy wooden coffee table, her wrought iron bed with his oak tall boy wardrobe - everything just looked right.

His favourite decision was her choice of art work on the wall between the two windows, as much as she loved to hear him play he figured his guitars would be relegated to the second bedroom-come office-come guest room. Instead, in the time it had taken for him and Adam to build their bed, she and Max had put up two holders on the wall and the guitars had been hung in pride of place.

She was finishing the washing up in the kitchen following their first meal in their new home, Katelyn had shown forward planning as usual and a lasagne had been defrosting on the kitchen counter since they'd first arrived. Loker came up behind her as she was drying her hands on a towel wrapping his arms and around her waist and resting his chin in the crook of her neck.

She draped the towel over the cupboard handle below the sink and took his hand slipping her fingers between his own. Wordlessly she led him to the bathroom and shut the door behind them.

Rising up onto the balls of her bare feet she kissed him softly pressing her body against his. Loker wrapped his arms around her torso the thought briefly crossing his mind as to why she had brought him in here and not the bedroom.

She pulled back from the kiss and leant back causing Loker to loosen his grip on her body, her hands came up catching the bottom of his t-shirt and continuing upwards taking the fabric with her. He raised his arms to let her finish having to duck down slightly so she could reach.

Her hands caressed down his chest and went straight to his belt buckle, Loker decided she needed to catch up and he interrupted her to slide her camisole top off.

Loker was still a little confused as to their location for what she seemed to have in mind until she took off her jeans and turned away from him to switch on the shower. The hot water rushed out and Loker noticed for the first time that they'd moved into an apartment with a double shower.

Katelyn removed her underwear and stepped into the shower beckoning for Loker to follow. He quickly discarded the last of his clothing.

The water was warm on his aching muscles but the relief was short lived against seeing the droplets cascade down Katelyn's body. He went to kiss her again and she stepped back slightly causing her backside to brush against the cool tile wall, she gasped at the shock and Loker gave her a sly grin.

"_Don't even think…" _she didn't finish her sentence as Loker pushed her back against the tiles his lips finding hers and his hands pinning her hips to prevent her from squirming away from the cold. When she stopped moving and settled into the kiss he broke it off, the grin still on his face.

"_That was just mean." _she said ducking under the running water to warm up. "_And here was me thinking I was being all romantic" _she continued with a smile.

Loker chuckled softly and took in the sight as she submerged her head under the flow sweeping her hair back.

She reached for the body wash and squeezed it onto the sponge rubbing it between her hands to create a lather. Loker took the sponge from her, drawing her back towards him, she let him rub the sponge across her shoulders as she caressed his chest with the suds on her hands.

They took their time washing each other simply touching and feeling until all the suds had disappeared. The shower screen and bathroom mirror had steamed up long ago but neither of them cared how long they'd been in there.

Loker leant in for one more kiss loving the feel of her wet smooth skin under his fingertips, he was definitely relaxed from the move now and rather eager to break in their new bedroom. He reluctantly let her get out the shower and followed taking the fluffy towel from her outstretched hand.

* * *

Loker came back from the kitchen and climbed into the bed relishing the feeling of her quality cotton sheets, he watched her blow dry her hair wishing she would just hurry up and join him. The memories of the best shower he had ever had lingered in his mind and her white waffle dressing gown was no match.

Feeling excessively playful he threw a small throw pillow in her direction grinning as it hit her between her shoulder blades. She turned, her hair brush tangled in mid stroke, she switched off the hairdryer and pulled the brush through.

"_I'd behave if I were you," _her voice was light but sensual.

"_Oh I am behaving" _he quipped, _"badly."_

Her hair was almost dry so she put down the hairdryer and moved to the foot of the bed. Loker whipped back her side of the covers patting the mattress, she shook her head slowly and went to undo the belt on her dressing gown.

"_Well that's new." _he said admiring the navy satin basque clinging to her curves.

"_Thought you deserved a treat after all your hard work today." _her voice was syrupy.

Loker beckoned her over to the bed again, this time she didn't hesitate.


	13. ONE SHOT The Proposal

"_So would you get married again?" _Torres posed the question to Foster and Katelyn before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

They'd been talking about the Lightman Group's latest case - a suspected 'black widow' who was on husband number five having had her previous four die in varying situations. Apart from some circumstantial evidence there wasn't much to link her to the deaths of the four men but the Police had suspicions and wanted her questioning again.

The woman's serial marriages had sparked a slightly more jovial discussion over lunch about weddings in general and now Torres was looking expectantly at her colleagues for an answer.

Foster put down her cup of coffee and thought for a moment.

"_I don't know really, getting divorced was rather…liberating," _she replied with a smile that gave away exactly what she meant by 'liberating', _"It'd have to be someone pretty special to make me want to give that up any time soon." _

Torres smiled recalling more than a few flirtatious exchanges between Lightman and Foster in recent weeks, she decided against drawing attention to Fosters subtle glance in the direction of Lightman's office and turned her attention to Katelyn.

It was a question Katelyn had spent some time considering before this conversation had ever happened and it was still one that stirred a lot of emotions. She sighed a little not really trying to hide the flash of sadness that crossed her face.

"_I would get married again, no doubt. I guess I'm a bit old fashioned but I believe that's the way a relationship should go." _

"_Would you do the wedding the same way?" _Torres probed directly wanting to shift the conversation back to the lighter topic of wedding planning.

Katelyn laughed, her mood changing as her thoughts shifted to the planning of her wedding to Michael, _"Oh gosh no."_

Torres looked confused, _"I thought your wedding day should be one of the best days of your life?"_

"_Oh it was, I married the man of my dreams - but the wedding was so not what I'd have done myself."_

Foster and Torres both waited for the explanation.

"_Michael's parents paid for the whole thing so they basically had the day they wanted, I gave up trying to fight it in the end. The only thing I actually chose was my dress because I insisted on paying for it myself. Don't get me wrong they were lovely people but it was all about the show - big country house, five course meal, all the trimmings - it was just a bit too much really."_

"_That's sounds alright to me, I wouldn't mind a big wedding like that." _

"_Yeah the venue was lovely but if I said lavender and peach bridesmaid dresses with co-coordinating flowers would that change your mind?"_

Torres giggled at the description_, "That is some peculiar taste in colours."_

"_I'd have loved dodgy colours," _said Gillian with mock sarcasm_, "My mother-in-law threatened not to come to my wedding if we invited Alec's father's new wife. Then his father said he wouldn't come if we didn't invite her. I re-wrote the table plan six times."_

Foster shook her head wryly at the memory of her wedding plans, _"They did both end up coming but spent the entire day glaring at each other, made for some interesting wedding photos, especially as they ended up in the same colour outfit."_

The girls laughed.

"_So what about you Ria, marriage on the cards?" _Katelyn asked as she selected a cherry tomato from her salad bowl spearing it carefully with her fork.

"_I'd need to find a man first, my latest dating choices haven't exactly been commitment worthy. Take Saturday night's date - he spent the whole evening staring at my chest, even when I called him on it he just didn't stop. Needless to say I finished a whole bottle of wine and didn't stay past the main course." _

"_There is definitely a lack of decent men out there," _said Foster recalling her own recent male encounters_, "My last date seemed to tick all the boxes but then he sneezed and spent almost a whole minute looking at it in his handkerchief."_

"_Oh my gosh, that's disgusting, you're kidding right?" _Katelyn and Torres both looked shocked.

"_Totally serious, I managed to slip a text out to Cal and he called me with an 'emergency'." _she made the air quotes sign and lowered her hands back to the table.

"_Guess you're the lucky one then Kate not being on the market anymore" _said Torres with a grin.

"_Oh I don't know about that," _Katelyn smiled back, _"he snores." _

* * *

"_So what did she say?" _Loker practically jumped on Torres as she came back into the lab after lunch.

"_Geez, let me at least make it back to my chair." _

"_Sorry, but what did she say?" _

She sat down slowly to prolong giving her answer and tried to relax her face, _"Well did you buy a ring yet?"_

"_No," _Loker looked apprehensive and she could see him trying to read her.

"_Probably for the best." _she patted his knee in patronising sympathy.

Loker looked pathetically crestfallen but Torres couldn't hold her expression any longer and she giggled.

"_That's really cruel you know." _he replied with a frown realising she was messing with him.

"_Couldn't resist, I'm obviously getting good, you normally can read me better than that."_

"_Just tell me what she said." _He ignored her previous comment and sounded almost desperate. Loker leant forward in his chair his usual relaxed posture completely gone.

"_Well I can't promise she'd say yes to you, I didn't want to give her hints, but she would get married again."_

Loker grinned at the news_, "Ok so what type of ring do I get?"_

"_How should I know?" _

"_Come on Torres I sent you with the specific task of doing some recon for me - is that all you got?"_

"_I didn't want to ask too much - she'd figure it out." _

Loker knew she was right - ok so the new case opened up the topic of weddings rather nicely but Torres asking about ring size and style preferences probably would end up giving the game away. He'd thought about raiding Katelyn's jewellery box to find some ideas but he couldn't even find it in their bedroom. His search had been additionally hampered by the fact that she kept her drawers rather neat and tidy so his rummaging was also going to arouse suspicion.

"_You're not helping much" _he complained childishly.

"_Loker you live with her, surely you know her better than I do." _mocked Torres as she leant back in her chair.

"_Yeah but not only am I guy and am genetically designed to miss the details, I am also a very nervous guy who doesn't want to get this wrong which means every time I think I've made a decision I end up mulling it over and over until I forget what I decided in the first place."_

Torres shook her head at his babbling, it wasn't like him to be quite so wound up.

"_Katelyn doesn't wear jewellery, certainly not at work anyway, but her watch is silver so I'd probably go with white gold or platinum."_

Loker scribbled down the tip on a post it note - it was certainly logical advice.

"_And her watch is quite delicate so I don't think she'd want something too flashy." _

"_Well what would you say is too flashy?" _

Torres sighed and figured she would regret the next statement she was about to make.

"_Do you want me to go with you to choose something?" _

* * *

The following lunch time, Torres found herself inside a rather expensive looking jewellers about 2 blocks from their office. She was eyeing up a rather charming bracelet for herself when Loker's exasperated voice interrupted her thoughts.

"_Urgh, they're all the same to me."_

She straightened up and joined him as he peered blankly into a glass cabinet full of rings.

"_They don't look the same at all."_

Loker huffed at her comment_, "No what I mean is none of them stand out to me - when I look at Kate, all I see is her so the ring should have the same effect."_

Torres was a little stunned by the romance in her colleague's words and decided that she could probably be a little more supportive in their shopping expedition.

"_Can I help you both?"_

Loker and Torres both looked up into the face of a smartly dressed middle aged woman with her hair in a bun and name tag that read 'June'.

Seeing Loker still looking totally baffled by the choice in front of him, Torres smiled politely.

"_Yes please, we'd like to see an engagement ring in white gold or platinum, something stunning but understated, maybe in an alternative style to usual solitaire."_

"_Well congratulations," _said the assistant shifting her eyes approvingly between the two of them, her gaze settling on Loker, _"And what's the budget sir or would you rather not say in front of your fiancé?" _

"_Oh she's not my fiancé, she just works with me." _Loker's rebuttal of the comment was a little too quick for Torres liking.

"_Thanks, makes me feel very appreciated."_

He shrugged still looking a little bewildered at the situation, almost as if he was just starting to actually process what he was doing inside the jewellery store.

The assistant ignored their exchange and repeated the first part of her question about the budget.

"_I'm more bothered about finding the right ring to be fair, so we'll see how we go."_

As Torres watched him answer his face seemed to show more control of the situation and she guessed he had probably done his research and had a good idea of the price range the shop had to offer. At least he'd done some research.

The assistant pulled on a pair of thin white fabric gloves before starting to select rings from the various cabinets and displays around the store. She motioned for Loker and Torres to take a seat at a small mahogany table in the corner of the room; she soon joined them with an ivory satin tray full of rings that matched the general description Torres had offered.

There was a real mixture on the tray - some had three diamonds in a row across the band, others were of the solitaire variety but in an array of settings. Torres actually felt a little spoilt for choice and rather jealous. She was about to make her suggestion when Loker pointed his index finger at one in the top row_, "I think it has to be that one."_

_The assistant didn't hesitate, she quickly lifted it from tray and handed it to him to take a closer look. _

_A fine choice, sir, it is a woven shoulder ring in platinum with a 1.25 ct princess cut diamond in an elegant four-claw setting." _

Torres was impressed with the sales pitch but Loker didn't seem to care about the specifics, he'd made his mind up and had found the ring he wanted. She looked at her watch - for a guy who didn't have a clue what he wanted, half an hour in the store was far better than she'd expected.

Out of politeness, Torres went back to looking at the bracelet in the cabinet by the door as he paid. Gazing at the price tag she calculated she would have to miss her rent for three months if she wanted the diamond studded gold bracelet - she'd make a very attractive homeless person with that on her wrist though.

Back in the office, Torres could see Loker was decidedly fidgety as he sat watching the screen.

"_So how are you going to ask her." _She didn't know if he wanted to talk about it or not but she was curious.

"_I don't know - part of me thinks I should make a big deal out of it, but then I start thinking it might just be cool to leave it on her pillow or something." _

"_I'm not sure it really matters as long as you actually say the words. I guess I never figured you for the marriage kind of guy though."_

Surprisingly Loker laughed, _"Me neither and to be honest I haven't actually thought much beyond the proposal which currently is still lacking form. I just know she's the person I want to be with and I'm hoping she feels the same way."_

Torres was about to offer some words of support but their private chat came to an abrupt end with Lightman and Foster's entrance into the lab. Loker's head snapped back towards the screen and Torres quickly tried to find something to make herself look busy.

"_Right enough of the gossip you two, Loker I'd appreciate it if you would actually watch the footage and not just your screen saver and Torres I need you to come and see husband number five with me." _

Lightman's voice was somewhere between authoritative and amused, he was clearly enjoying this case and was therefore happy to pass on his enthusiasm to his slacking workers rather than reprimanding them.

Torres got up reluctantly secretly hoping that Loker would do the proposal soon - it was weird seeing him all wound up.

* * *

Loker sat staring at his beer feeling rather nervous about the conversation he was going to have; the music in the main club pounded away as he sat in the VIP area in the balcony section of Max's club. He'd only been here a handful of times, and never without Katelyn - Max wasn't really his sort of guy to be fair - he was too polished and made Loker suddenly want to go out and sign up for a gym somewhere.

"_Hey Loker, how it going?" _Max settled into the seat next to him, a glass of what appeared to be scotch in his hand.

"_Things are good." _Loker's answer was vague and he took a deep breath without realising it.

"_Something on your mind?" _Max asked knowing full well that Loker hadn't come to see him on the social.

"_Ok, here it goes." _Loker stilled himself fully expecting a negative reaction from Max given that he and Michael had been quite close.

"_I want to ask Kate to marry me." _Loker waited for the rebuke.

"_You're serious?"_

"_Very serious." _Loker couldn't read Max's face accurately in the dimly lit club.

"_That's brilliant, I'm really happy for you, I'm sure she'll say yes." _

Loker let out another deep breath in relief - if Max was happy then the rest of her friends would be ok too. He knew he didn't exactly need permission for anything but something had been telling him for the past few weeks that Max was like family to Katelyn and to not involve him would be wrong.

"_So how are you going to do it?"_

"_That's the thing, I don't know, I was hoping you could shed some light on what I should avoid." _Loker hoped his expression conveyed the true meaning behind his words - he was really asking how Michael had proposed.

Max nodded getting the point, _"Well given that you're actually putting some thought into it you couldn't be more different to Mike."_

Loker couldn't help but flinch a little at the familiarity.

"_Mike's proposal was a bit of an accident really - a shopping trip that got a little out of hand albeit in a good way. They were talking about marriage and Kate went to look at a nearby jewellery shop window, because Max was making jokes she called him on how serious he was about getting married and he took her inside and asked her to choose one. The actual proposal took place in a car park about twenty minutes later. Not exactly romantic but at least memorable." _

Max took a sip of his drink and leant back into the plush sofa cushions his arm resting across the back of the chair.

"_So should I make a big deal out of it then?"_

Max chuckled at Loker's obvious attempts to get someone else to make the decision for him, _"Come on, you know what she likes - just think about it and go with the first thing that comes to mind."_

The radio on Max's hip crackled into life, _"Loker, I need to go but you know my number if you want to talk some more."_

"_Yeah, thanks for the help. I'm sure you'll be hearing from one of us very soon."_

"_And I'm sure it'll be her telling me all about your proposal."_

Loker finished his beer and made his move out of the club. It was about a thirty minute walk back to their apartment but it wasn't particularly late and it was a warm evening. He thought back on Max's advice - just think and go with it - he let his mind wander to thoughts of her and what he could do to make it just about the two of them but also special and memorable. It didn't take him long to settle on the perfect idea.

* * *

"_Feeling like a duet tonight?" _Katelyn asked running her fingers around the top of her wine glass absentmindedly.

"_Not tonight, bit too tired really, just thought it would be nice to come out and relax." _Loker's tone of voice wasn't as chilled as he had hoped but she nodded and didn't question his unusual decision not to go on stage.

They were in his favourite music café where they'd shared their fifth date. It was mid-week so the bar was rather quiet but the talent on stage was of a higher quality than the usual weekend ever-so-slightly-too-tipsy renditions.

Loker could feel the nerves in his stomach, his guitar was already on stage waiting for him and the ring was ready to go; before he'd really had time to compose his thoughts his name was being called.

"_I thought you were too tired tonight." _Katelyn asked with a suspicious grin as he slid along the chair to get up.

"_So I said a little white lie." _he shrugged returning her smile as he headed to the stage.

His heart was racing as he lifted up his guitar and pulled the strap over his head. He glanced over to the bar and Sam the bartender gave him a wink.

Settling on the stool in front of the microphone he coughed a little to clear his throat his own heartbeat pounding in his ears; he started strumming the tune he'd chosen -Bon Jovi's You Had Me From Hello.

He got through the second verse and started the next chorus giving Sam a brief nod. He watched the bartender make his way over the Katelyn's table, she didn't notice he was there at first, her eyes were fixed on Loker.

"_From the gentleman on the stage." _said Sam causing her to take her eyes away from Loker as he laid out two glasses and a bottle of champagne followed by a single yellow rose and the black velvet ring box. Katelyn looked up at the bartender in confusion, he simply smiled and walked back to his bar.

Loker continued to play wondering what she was thinking, he watched her open up the ring box and wished he could see her face better from the stage. In the next moment she had stood up from the table and was heading towards him; Loker carried on strumming but stopped singing causing the bar patrons to glance round to see what was going on.

She moved lightly up the stage steps and Loker stopped playing altogether, he quickly removed the guitar setting it down carefully on the stand next to the stool.

The nerves were back in abundance as he stood there waiting for her to say something, instead she handed him the ring box back. His heart jumped into his throat and he began to panic that she was telling him no.

Seeing his distress she finally spoke, "_You missed a bit." _

Loker didn't understand at first but then he recalled what Torres had said a few days before - it doesn't really matter as long as you say the words. Quickly he got down on one knee causing the bar to let out a wolf whistle of moral support. He couldn't help but laugh a little.

Taking a deep breath he opened up the ring box holding it up towards her, the ring sparkling fabulously in the stage lights.

"_Katelyn Harris, will you marry me?" _

She smiled softly and he was sure he could see tears in her eyes_, "Eli Loker, yes I will." _

The bar erupted in cheers as he stood up and lifted the ring out of the box; she held out her hand and he carefully he slipped it onto her finger. He drew her towards him and kissed his fiancé causing further wolf whistles from their spectators.

_"So then how about that duet?" _He asked as he pulled back, slightly breathless from the kiss and the sheer elation he was feeling.


	14. ONE SHOT  The Wedding

_Author Note:_

_Sorry its been a while coming, I've been super busy with my new kitten - he kept sitting on my lap top which isn't great for typing…at least if you'd like to read what's been typed anyway lol._

_The song is 'I Do' by Westlife - I can't imagine for one second that Loker would be a fan of Westlife, lol, but I love the words to this song. _

_I will admit that the ceremony wording has been lifted from various sources as I thought the stark standard UK civil ceremony was a bit too plain and that some one the personalised stuff was a little too flowery for my tastes. So I've borrowed bits and pieces that I liked and thought would work. Hope it all works ok!_

_Hope you enjoy the final instalment!_

* * *

"_Are you asleep? x." _

Katelyn read the message on her phone and couldn't help but smile to herself. It was Loker and they'd been apart for less than four hours.

She texted back a simple _"No, why? x" _and waited.

"_Any chance the rumours about bad luck are all rubbish?" _came the reply.

It was the night before their wedding and although they were at the same hotel ready for the next day, wedding tradition dictated that they spend that night apart. Katelyn had bagged the honeymoon suite to get ready in, purely because the hotel wasn't particularly big and this room was more bride friendly, Loker was on the floor below in one of the regular bedrooms and he was clearly pining away.

She didn't have time to text back as there was a soft knock at the door. Given that it was 11pm, there was only one person it could be, however Katelyn was in a bit of a predicament - stuck in the middle of a well bubbled spa tub. She hit speed dial.

"_Did you bring the spare room key?" _she asked when Loker answered.

"_Er, I'm not sure, why?"_

"_Shame if you didn't because I'm not moving to let you in."_

"_Your in that big tub thing aren't you?" _He guessed accurately recalling her reaction to their tour of the hotel a few months ago.

"_Maybe…" _

She could hear a rustling in the background and imagined Loker squashing the phone between his ear and shoulder to search his pockets.

"_Hope you're not decent." _he said after a couple of minutes searching. Katelyn closed her phone and heard the main door click open.

"_Geez, I really did get the raw end of the deal on rooms tonight." _he said taking another look at the bridal suite.

The hotel itself was a family run business and only had twenty rooms, plus the bridal suite. It had a beautiful vintage theme throughout and they'd practically booked it straight away when they'd seen it.

The bridal suite had ivory walls with soft green floral panels and a stunning real wood floor, the furniture was a mixture of either cream edged with gold or dark brown. The room was split into two parts - a lounge area with a cream sofa and a dark wooden coffee table then the bedroom area with a huge four poster bed with crisp white sheets and a heavy woven green throw.

He kicked his trainers off and shut the door behind him. The bathroom was all steamy when he walked in and Katelyn looked incredibly relaxed behind the bubbles.

"_Isn't it a bit late for a bath?" _he asked with a smile as he perched on the edge of the tub.

"_Didn't think I would have time in the morning." _she shrugged playfully as she scooted across to drape her arms over the side.

"_Looking forward to tomorrow?" _he asked knowing that it was a rather lame question.

"_Well I was having second thoughts actually," _she admitted quickly patting the side of the bath, _"I'm thinking this tub and I have a real connection."_

Loker laughed lightly, _"I would argue that there are things I can do that it can't."_

"_Oh I don't know about that," _Katelyn pushed a button on the wall causing the lights in the room to dim, then the underwater lights came on and the spa jets started up.

"_Fair fight I guess. I'll go now, was nice to have known you." _he waved as he stood up.

"_Yeah ok, Eli wasn't it? Stay in touch." _she mocked back with a grin on her face as she lay back into the bubbles.

He laughed again and offered her his hand, _"Seriously, I don't want to marry a prune." _

"_Oh alright," _she replied with a sigh, _"I'll get out." _

Katelyn took his hand stepping carefully onto the bath mat and he wrapped her in the big fuzzy hotel towel. He went back into the bedroom and lay down on the four poster as he waited for her to dry off, she soon came out dressed in one of the hotel bathrobes.

"_So what's bothering you?" _she asked out of the blue as she joined him on the bed propping herself up on the palm of her hand to stop her damp hair touching the pillow.

"_Nothing why?" _

"_Oh come on, I've been with you long enough now to read you occasionally, fess up." _She nudged him in the ribs gently.

Loker sighed unsure if he wanted to be honest this time.

"_If you're having second thoughts…" _her untrained eye led her to the wrong conclusion.

"_No, no, its not that at all," _he corrected, quickly reverting to honesty over having her think he was backing out, _"It's just I think you deserve to have the best and I'm not sure I know how to be the best husband."_

Katelyn frowned a little at his self-doubt, _"Being a husband is not really any different to being a boyfriend."_

"_It seems more important."_

"_Yes but practically you're already doing everything you need to - you look after me, you listen to me regardless of what rubbish I might be saying, you don't hog the remote and you help out with cleaning the apartment." _

Loker gave a small smile at the last two points feeling a little better, "_So there's nothing else I should be doing?" _

"_Well if you could make your dirty clothes find their way into the wash basket I'd be grateful," _she joked, _"but otherwise no, anything that comes our way we'll just figure out together."_

Her voice was soothing and reassuring, as he studied her face he could only see love and adoration in her features. It made him feel better and a lot less nervous.

Loker turned on the bed to mirror her position and caught sight of the dress bag hanging on the wardrobe.

"_So what's your dress like then?" _

She shook her head at the sudden change of subject, _"Come on we're already breaking the rules, you can wait till tomorrow." _

He looked at his watch, _"It is tomorrow, we get married in fourteen hours." _

"_Tough - we'll keep at least one tradition if you don't mind." _

"_Twenty questions and I bet I could guess."_

"_You could do it in ten and you know it so the answer is no." _

"_Is it a big dress?"_

"_Shut up," _

"_Not a big dress then," _he countered reading the minor expression of triumph on her face.

"_Stop it, or I'm kicking you out." _

"_Lace?" _he carried on with his questions chuckling when she quickly tried to switch on her press officer face to stop him reading her. He'd learnt to look for the tiny little signals though, he'd watched her in too many interviews now.

"_Not lace."_

"_Please Eli, stop it." _she pleaded, _"I want it to be a surprise."_

"_Alright, I'll stop but on one condition." _

She sighed_, "What?" _

"_You don't wear any make up tomorrow." _It was a big request and he knew it.

She giggled_, "You should have picked something else."_

"_Why?" _

"_Because I didn't bring any, I know you don't really like me wearing it so I just bought a bit of eye shadow and that's it." _

Loker was a little shocked at the revelation, he'd be bugging her since day one to stop putting too much on, to the point where he'd even hidden her make-up bag. It hadn't worked, she'd just got stressed out and a bit panicky which he thought was a little weird but when he asked Foster for some psychological deciphering it had become clearer - it was her comfort blanket so to speak.

Loker could relate, he had used radical honesty as his safety mechanism, except he didn't switch it off as such although he had begun to tone it down.

For Katelyn it was all about the job - taking her make up off was her way of distinguishing between work and home, between the mask and the real her. He'd seen it enough times - at work she was always seamless but when she was home it came straight off and she was relaxed.

"_Its our wedding day, no face required." _she said softly following her words with a small yawn as she turned onto her stomach and lowered her head onto the pillow sleepily.

"_So I cant pick another condition then?" _he asked quietly matching her position again.

"_Nope" _she closed her eyes.

"_Can I at least have a good night kiss?" _

"_Maybe, but better make it count, romance goes out the window when you get married." _her eyes were still closed but there was a small smile on her lips.

He shifted closer on the bed, his hand coming up to caress her cheek before he pressed his lips gently against hers.

"_The soon to be Mrs Loker." _he whispered as he pulled away.

Her eyes were still closed and her voice sounded dozy as she spoke, _"Yep."_

A few minutes later Loker could tell she was asleep. He carefully reached over for the throw and draped it across her body as she'd neglected to get under the covers first, he then reached over and flicked off the bedside lamp that had been filing the room with a warm glow.

He didn't really feel sleepy - he just had a weird feeling in his stomach. Loker couldn't tell whether he was nervous or simply excited - during the planning he had to admit that he hadn't been overly bothered but Katelyn hadn't seemed to mind. She asked his opinion on numerous wedding related things but he had only really paid proper attention when she'd asked him to come to the cake tasting and he was very much looking forward to the white chocolate covered vanilla sponge that they'd chosen.

He rolled onto his back placing his palms behind his head and closed his eyes hoping that he might drop off soon, falling asleep an hour into the actual wedding wouldn't exactly be romantic.

* * *

Loker rolled over and expected to find Katelyn next to him as usual, however her side of the bed was empty and the throw was back over the end of the bed again. He sat up rubbing at his face realising that it was officially his wedding day and he would definitely need a shave.

There was a note on the dressing table waiting for him, _"Downstairs sorting out the last few bits and pieces - See you at 2pm Mr Harris to be."_

He chuckled at the Mr Harris part and glanced over at the clock, it was 10am so it was safe to say that he'd probably had enough sleep to get him through the day. He made the bed, not wanting her to come back to a messy room and headed for his own room to start getting ready.

By the time he'd got there he had a text from his best man, Adam, saying that he was on his way complete with a six pack. Loker didn't really feel like drinking - not to Adam's paces anyway - he very much wanted to remember every minute of this day.

He'd only been in the room 5 minutes when there was a knock at the door followed by the words 'Room Service'. He readily accepted the breakfast tray from the porter and was pleased to see that it was full of all his favourites.

"_You could have saved some for me" _Adam complained when he saw the empty tray with the remnants of Loker's breakfast

Loker grinned and downed the last of his orange juice.

"_Suits are hanging on the wardrobe and I hope you remembered your shoes." _he said as he headed for the bathroom for a shower and that much needed shave.

"_Ok and of course." _came the muffled reply behind the now closed bathroom door.

* * *

Katelyn looked at the clock for the hundredth time and let out a deep breath. It was 1pm and nearly time for her to put on her dress.

She looked out of the window and could already see the first few guests starting to arrive. As she let her gaze sweep over the hotel gardens she couldn't have imagined a more different wedding to her last one.

There were no bridesmaids or flower girls or page boys this time to get organised, the guest list was small and only had people on it that they both knew. The meal they'd chosen contained food that people would actually want to eat and it was going to be all about the marriage and not throwing a big party.

She knew everything was all set up downstairs, the hotel had let her know that the cake had arrived and her bouquet had been sent up about half an hour ago. It was a simple posy of cream and dusky pink roses with the slightest scattering of crystals.

Katelyn walked back over to the dressing table and checked her hair again - it didn't look bad considering that she had done it herself. She hadn't bothered with a jewel encrusted tiara and cathedral length veil this time, instead her shoulder length hair had simply been washed and dried and left to sit naturally. She'd pinned back one side slightly with a silver comb with pearl detailing just to add a little something.

She examined her face without makeup, she'd been blessed with a good skin day so there were no blemishes to be worried about but it was strange to be doing something so important without having half a tonne of foundation on.

A knock on the door signalled Max's arrival and he came into the room dressed in the suit Loker had picked out. It was a black suit with a jacket a few inches longer than a usual work kind of jacket, Loker had selected an ivory embroidered waistcoat and although it had taken a little persuading he had agreed to the dusky pink cravat which he'd reluctantly admitted looked good once he had it on.

She was glad to have Max in the room - the waiting had finally started to get to her and she was appreciative of the company.

"_So how on earth do I do up a wedding dress?" _he asked looking over towards the dress bag with an apprehensive expression.

"_Well considering you managed to zip up your fly today, I think you'll be fine."_

Max looked relieved and went to lift the dress bag off the wardrobe. Katelyn helped him to slide the gown out of the protective cover and she carefully slipped it off the hanger.

She set up the dress on the floor and stepped into it. Max politely averted his gaze as she slipped off the dressing gown and lifted the dress up, she held onto the top as Max gently pulled up the zipper and buttoned up each individual pearl button running down the back.

"_Good choice." _he said as he stepped back to take a proper look.

She smiled and turned to look at herself in the full length mirror. It had taken her three dress shops to find the right one - a simple strapless ivory satin gown somewhere between an a-line and fish tail style with a pleated bust line. It had a small train too and a little bit of gem detailing on the bodice.

Katelyn looked very different to last time - her last dress had been huge and princessy with a waist cinching corset that Michael's mother had taken some personal delight in doing up so tight she'd actually had to sneak off mid wedding and have a bridesmaid loosen it up. This time she felt like a proper bride and despite the DIY hair and make up - she looked sophisticated and elegant.

"_Its 1.30, are you all set to go?" _Max asked quietly break her thoughts.

* * *

**Tell me, Can you feel my heartbeat?**

**Tell me, as I kneel down at your feet.**

**I knew there would come a time,**

**When these two hearts would entwine,**

**Just put your hand in mine, forever.**

Katelyn stood outside the ceremony room listening to the soft piano music they'd picked to play before the ceremony. Suddenly the music disappeared and she imagined the CD being changed over ready for the bridal entrance piece.

As she heard the first few bars of the music she felt her calm disappear and a lump rise in her throat. Katelyn's hand tightened around Max's arm and she desperately tried to stop herself from crying believing that if she started she probably wouldn't stop.

Max took a step forward and that was it. The hotel staff opened the double oak doors and Katelyn took in a breath at how bright the room was. It was a sunny day and the light streamed through the glass domed ceiling of the circular conservatory room.

**For so long, ****I have been an island,**

**When no one could ever reach these shores,**

**And we've got whole lifetime to share, and I'll always be there**

**Darling this I swear. **

The guests all stood up as Katelyn came into the room and Loker turned to look down the aisle. She looked beautiful and he couldn't believe that she was about to become his wife. He could actually feel tears pricking at his eyes and couldn't decide if he should just let a couple fall, he opted to wipe them away before they got too far and as he looked back into her eyes he could tell she would need to do the same.

As she reached the top of the aisle he gently raised his hand and ran his thumb over her cheeks to catch the tiny droplets.

**So please believe me,**

**For these words I say are true,**

**And don't deny me, a lifetime loving you. **

**If you ask will I be true, do I give my all to you?**

**Then I will say I do**

"_Family and friends, we welcome you today to witness the marriage of Eli and Katelyn. You have shared and contributed to their lives in the past, and by witnessing their marriage ceremony today, they ask you to share in their future."_

Loker turned his attention to the officiant as the ceremony started. He could feel his heart beating faster as he listened to the words that signalled the next steps in his life. He glanced across at Katelyn, she wasn't crying either now, she was smiling.

"_Marriage is a promise, made in the hearts of two people who love each other, which takes a lifetime to fulfill. Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships. A wife and a husband are each other's lover, teacher, listener, critic, and best friend. It is into this state that Eli and Katelyn wish to enter."_

**I'm ready to begin this journey,**

**Well I'm with you with every step you take. **

**And we've got a whole lifetime to share,**

**And I'll always be there, darling this I swear. **

"_Eli Loker and Katelyn Harris, you stand before me today signifying your desire to be formally united in marriage, and being assured that no legal, moral, or religious barriers hinder this proper union, please join your hands and give heed to the questions now asked you." _

The officiant's voice was serious and solemn. Loker raised his hand and felt the warmth of her as she closed her fingers around his.

"_Eli, in taking this woman to be your lawful and wedded wife, do you promise to love and cherish her, to honour and sustain her, in sickness as in health, in poverty as in wealth, and to be true to her in all things until death alone shall part you? Do you so promise?"_

"_I do." _Loker let the smile spread on his face as he said those two tiny words.

"_Katelyn, in taking this man to be your lawful and wedded husband, do you promise to love and cherish him, to honour and sustain him, in sickness as in health, in poverty as in wealth, and to be true to him in all things until death alone shall part you? Do you so promise?"_

Katelyn smiled back at him, her brown eyes threatening to tear up again, _"I do."_

**So please believe me, for these words I say are true,**

**And don't deny me, a lifetime loving you. **

**If you ask will I'll be true, do I give my all to you?**

**Then I will say I do.**

_"With this ring, I give you my heart. I have no greater gift to give and I promise I shall always do my best. I promise to you perfect love and perfect trust, for one lifetime with you could never be enough. I feel honoured to call you my wife and I feel so pleased to call you mine."_

Loker slipped the platinum band onto her finger.

"_With this ring, I promise to love and care for you and I will try in every way to be worthy of your love. I will always be honest with you, kind, patient, and forgiving. But most of all, I promise to be a true and loyal friend to you."_

The ring was warm where she had been holding it and he held his breath as she placed it on his finger.

**Come on just take my hand,**

**Come on lets make a stand for our love.**

**I know this is so hard to believe,**

**So please…**

"_Eli and Katelyn, may your home be a haven of peace and your relationship be one of truth and understanding. And now, for as much as you have made your vows, each to the other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving your rings, I pronounce that you are husband and wife. Eli you may kiss your bride"_

It was the best kiss they'd ever shared, Loker could barely hear the applause from their family and friends in the background as he kissed his wife. He'd never felt so many emotions at once - happiness, excitement, contentment and most of all love. He didn't want to stop kissing her, he never wanted to stop kissing her. She was his wife and he was her husband, they were together for the world to see and nothing was going to stand in their way.

**So please believe me, for these words I say are true,**

**And don't deny me a lifetime loving you,**

**And if you as will I'll be true, and do I give my all to you **

**Do I'll give my all to you**

**And I will say I do.**


	15. Chapter 15

Author note:

So someone suggested that I maybe write a baby chapter… I felt that as I hadn't written anything for a while that one chapter might be a bit stingy so I figured I would let my imagination run away a little and see where it ends up (hope there's no objections there…)

I've tacked it onto the original story as its essentially a continuation anyway, hope you enjoy - please review and feel free to offer anything you might like to see happen…

P.S Thank you to everyone who has added me as a favourite since I 'ended' the original story - it is much appreciated. :)

* * *

Katelyn tapped her foot against the bar stool to the rhythm of the heavy dance music as she absentmindedly drew patterns in the condensation on her wine glass.

It was some time around midnight and Max had been called away to handle some 'management business' leaving her alone in the now heaving club.

She could sense that someone was watching her and she carefully cast her eyes around to try and figure out who it was.

He was at the other end of the bar and he tipped his bottle of beer towards her in acknowledgement as she made eye contact.

She looked away quickly and smiled to herself, he was cute.

When she looked back moments later, he was gone. Katelyn sat up a little straighter hoping to spot him in the crowd, she jumped when a hand touched her shoulder and a soft voice whispered in her ear.

_"Can I interest you in a dance?"_

Katelyn turned her head and was pleasantly surprised to see the man from the other side of the bar. She nodded and spun herself off the bar stool.

He led her to the middle of the dance floor, a hand against her waist guiding her through the crowd of dancers.

When they were sufficiently lost in the throng he wasted no time in pulling her towards him. She brazenly raised her arms to his neck and moved her body against his as the beat changed to something slower and sexier.

He knew how to move and it sent pleasant chills through her, especially when he lowered his hands until his fingers were gently caressing the skin above the band of her jeans.

Katelyn pressed herself against his chest and he inclined his head downwards to whisper again.

"Maybe we could take this elsewhere?" his voice was a little ragged and his hands had moved further still as they now rested in the back pockets of her jeans.

She nodded, _"My place or yours?"_

_"Yours." _

The lights were all off in the apartment and Katelyn fumbled her hand out behind her trying to find the lamp switch - it wasn't easy trying to be co-ordinated when you had a gorgeous guy pinning you to the side table with his lips.

She managed to gain enough dexterity to shed some light on the apartment and gladly let herself be manoeuvred over to the couch. His hands deliberately caressed her sides as he lifted her top up and over her head.

Katelyn guided him around until his back was to the couch and she pushed with just enough force to send him falling gently over the arm and onto the soft cushions.

Feeling emboldened, she followed him, straddling his hips as she climbed onto the couch. She used one hand to keep herself raised whilst the other grasped at his short hair; as they kissed again she was grateful that he'd shaved when his lips moved from her mouth down to her collar bone.

_"So how come you were so late?"_ She gasped as he nipped gently at her skin.

_"Sorry 'bout that…"_ he paused as she deliberately ground her hips against him.

_"Hmm, you were saying?"_ her tone was playful as she continued her movements.

_"Yeah… case overran…didn't get out till gone eleven."_ his speech was broken as he concentrated on her bra clasp.

_"I waited an hour…even got offered a drink or two and not by Max for a change." _

_"You can drink what you like with who you like…so long as you come home with me…"_

She giggled softly at his subtle possessiveness as he continued to fumble with the clasp.

_"Must be a new one…"_ he complained giving up and moving his hands instead to the button on her jeans.

She laughed louder this time and sat upright. Katelyn unclipped the clasp with ease and Loker pushed himself up his hands catching the straps and drawing them down over her arms. She always loved the look he gave her at this point, like he was seeing her for the first time.

Katelyn shifted her legs so they were wrapped around his waist, her hands going back into his hair as she kissed him softly before leaning back frowning.

_"What?"_ he smiled back at her, his short hair making him look a lot less dishevelled than unusual despite what they had been doing.

_"I miss the rest of your hair." _

He laughed, _"It'll grow back, in the meantime, you can pretend I'm some guy you picked up at the club." _


	16. Chapter 16

Working from home had its benefits when you felt this rough.

Katelyn emerged from the bathroom for the third time that morning and returned to her work that was spread out across the kitchen table. Maybe it was something she'd eaten?

The Lightman Group had a mad influx of cases over the last few months and the whole team had been working flat out. They'd been taking anything from Lightman's detested adultery cases right up to a double homicide in an effort to improve the companies bank balance. Katelyn couldn't remember the last time she and Eli had managed to get out for lunch together, or when they'd even managed to come home together for a matter of fact.

Today, she had scrounged the morning off and was waiting in for a workman - their washing machine had broken and Loker wasn't the type to don tools and have a go himself. The man was due at 9.30am so Katelyn had deliberately gotten up at her usual time to get started on some work, however between the trips to the bathroom, not much had been done.

Surprisingly the workman was on time and he introduced himself as 'Carl' and quickly had the washing machine out from under the counter to poke around in the back.

Katelyn watched from the table before feeling her stomach lurch again. She pushed the chair out and hurried off to the bathroom not entirely thrilled with the idea of a stranger hearing her throw up.

"_Not feeling too good?" _Carl asked as he continued to unscrew part of the pipe work.

"_No I guess not, not sure why though." _replied Katelyn pouring a glass of juice. _"Can I get you anything to drink?"_

"_Sure, juice is fine." _he responded seeing her already pouring from the carton.

Katelyn poured a second glass and carried it over, he thanked her as he took it from her hands and she once again returned to the table.

"_You know my missus had awful morning sickness when she was pregnant." _said Carl almost to himself after he'd taken a swig from the glass.

Katelyn practically spat her juice out, she hadn't even considered that. She quickly did the maths and wasn't happy with the results - they'd been so busy she had even noticed that it had been around eight weeks since she'd had her period.

"_Shit." _she wasn't normally one for expletives but it felt appropriate.

She and Eli had talked about kids but neither of them were exactly ready - sure they had been married for almost a year now but they were both enjoying work and a baby didn't quite fit in yet.

Katelyn sat in silence staring at nothing in particular. In her head she was flitting between the maths; which frustratingly kept arriving at the same conclusion, and trying to work out what she needed to do next. Pregnancy test for sure then most likely a doctors visit, but what would she tell Eli?

"_I'm all done here," _Carl's voice broker through her trance, _"Looks like there was a spur on the wheel and it shredded the belt so I've replaced the lot - should be working fine now." _

Carl shoved the machine back into place and cleared up his tools.

"_Thanks." _Katelyn mumbled quietly.

"_You know, whatever you decide is up to you, but I wouldn't change a thing about my two boys." _he said as he stepped over the threshold.

Katelyn was a little taken aback - a workman had just read a situation better then Lightman and most likely hit the nail on the head.

"_Thanks." _she said again closing the door behind him.

Katelyn wasted no time in grabbing her coat and pulling on her shoes, she chucked her mobile into her pocket in case the office called and she was quickly out the door.

There was a chemist only a few blocks down and she stood in the 'Mother and Baby' aisle feeling very uncomfortable.

The row of testing kits contained about twelve different versions, some extortionately priced and others overly complicated. She bought three in the end - a first response early detection one and then two regular ones. She watched the chemist check out her ring finger before giving a sickly 'aww bless' smile as she paid but fortunately didn't say anything and Katelyn was able to get out of there.

Back at the apartment five minutes seemed to be taking a hell of a long time - she'd done all the tests in the end with the assistance of the remainder of the juice carton and was waiting anxiously for her fate to be decided.

Her mobile phone alarm bleeped signalling time was up and she picked up the instructions for the first test.

"_Solid pink circle means yes, no circle means no…" _she said to herself as she reached for the little stick.

"_Damn it, ok best two out of three…" _she grabbed the next set of instructions.

"_Solid blue line is yes…"_

She let out the breath she'd been holding but not in relief.

"_Might as well check the last one." _

Yep, there was no doubt - she was pregnant.

Katelyn flopped onto the bathroom floor trying to get her head around the news - she figured that she could be up to eight weeks but couldn't exactly work out which particular 'event' may have led to the situation. In all honesty she'd had so much buzzing round her head, the only one she could remember was that night they'd done a bit of role playing at Max's club and that was definitely a couple of months ago.

Anyway, it didn't really matter - she was pregnant and that wasn't going to change right now.

She pushed herself up of the floor and looked at herself in the mirror. A morning of throwing up, the shock of the last half an hour and a lack of make up did not make for a pretty sight.

She was due in work at lunch time and it was nearly 11am - Katelyn needed to get a move on and she reached for her make up bag.

With the assistance of her toothbrush and possibly half a pot of foundation she managed to make herself look reasonably respectable. She replaced her jeans for a pair of plain black trousers and her t-shirt and cardigan combo for a loosely fitted gypsy top.

There was no way she would be 'showing' yet, but somehow she didn't feel comfortable with the idea of a fitted top or dress.

She knew she would have to tell Eli as soon as possible, Katelyn sighed heavily and pushed her laptop and paperwork into the bag.

* * *

"_Definitely shame there." _said Loker as he watched the CCTV footage.

"_And a healthy does of anger too." _added Foster as she leaned forward in her chair .

"_Looks like he doesn't enjoy being accused of adultery."_

"_No, adultery is too far for him so he's angry at that, but what was the shame for?" _

"_Porn? Secret fetish? Cross dressing tendencies?" _Loker pitched a few ideas, although he was leaning towards internet porn - the man in the cube was an IT manager for a start so would know how to hide his tracks - but he didn't seem practical enough to hide a physical secret such as women's underwear or high heels.

Sure enough, Torres had picked up on the signals and began to question the man along the lines of Loker's theory. The game was up in seconds - not a cheater but had an unhealthy obsession for all things dirty and virtual.

"_Well that's another mystery solved, whatever happened to trust in a relationship? I swear that is the twentieth 'are they cheating case' we've had this quarter." _

Loker smirked as Torres came out of the cube in a huff.

"_Pays the bills Torres, Lightman hates it as much as we do but needs must." _replied Foster standing up and stretching.

"_Yeah but he seems to have ring fenced all the interesting stuff for himself."_

"_I don't know about that, some of us talented people get invited in to help." _retorted Loker as he leaned back in his chair, his hands going behind his head.

Torres glared at her colleague, _"He just asked you because you're better at pressing pause on the video." _

"_Come on you two, you'd think I was working with children." _Foster interrupted as she cleared up the few sheets of case notes.

"_Right, Torres get Mr Fredricks out of the cube and go tell his wife he hasn't cheated but that they may wish to have a proper conversation about 'things'. And you Loker, make yourself useful by downloading the cube footage for the file." _

Loker turned back to his computer screens once again and began the downloading. He was in for a tedious afternoon if this was the only job for today, however it would at least mean he could get home on time which had so far been a rarity in the past few months.

As his mind weighed up the pros and cons of whether a boring afternoon was good or not, his thoughts were interrupted by Lightman's appearance in the office.

"_Alright?" _he asked to the general office area, not really focusing on anyone in particular.

"_We're fine Cal - how was your meeting?" _Foster closed the Fredrick's file and stood up from her chair.

"_Well, turns out they aren't satisfied with just me turning up - they want 'evidence' so I'm taking Loker back with me - he's good at pressing pause on the video." _

Torres snorted from elsewhere in the lab and Loker shot her a death glare in return.

"_Oooh scary," _she mocked still enjoying Lightman's well timed comment.


	17. Chapter 17

Katelyn arrived in the building and tried to quietly get to her office hoping she could simply get hold of Eli via phone or email and he could come up to see her when he had a moment. She didn't fancy going straight to the lab and asking for a word as her colleagues would inevitably try to read what was going on.

However, before she realised what had happened, Katelyn found herself face to face with Foster.

"_Hello Katelyn, washing machine all fixed?"_

"_Er what?"_

"_Your washing machine? Loker said something was wrong and you were waiting for a repair man?"_

"_Oh yeah…sorry…its all fixed, something about a spur and the belt I think."_

"_Are you alright?" _asked Foster noticing the difference from her normal composure.

"_Just not feeling too well, but I'm sure its nothing - just wanted to get on with some work and forget about it." _Katelyn put together her answer quickly, hoping that it was convincing enough.

"_Okay…" _Foster didn't sound convinced in the slightest_, "…just take it easy - it looks like we have a bit of a quiet day ahead of us - we've just wrapped up today's main booking so we should all get out on time for a change." _

"_Oh cool." _said Katelyn instantly regretting her use of the word - since when did she use 'cool' in any kind of response?

She could see Foster intentionally delaying her departure to try and figure out what was going on.

"_Gill, is Eli around?" _Katelyn asked trying not to focus on how her boss may be trying to connect the pieces. She knew her question would only fuel the suspicion but her own general appearance and demenour had already done enough damage anyway.

"_He's not actually, Lightman took him out on a job - he should be back for the end of the day though." _

"_Ok, I'll catch up with you later, got a lot to do." _Katelyn took another step in the direction of her office hoping to end the conversation.

"_No problem, as I said, take it easy if you're not feeling well." _replied Foster as she reluctantly moved towards the lab.

Katelyn knew Foster was more concerned that anything else but given that it was early days and only relying on three store bought tests - she didn't fancy telling anyone, especially not before Eli had chance to find out. The press officer settled at her desk and pulled her laptop out of her bag hoping that the next few hours would pass without any need to run suddenly to the ladies.

* * *

Foster had been right - it was a quiet day but thankfully everyone in the building had found something to keep themselves occupied and Katelyn hadn't had any visitors.

It was now around 3pm and Katelyn had cleared her workload. Suppressing feelings was clearly a positive work tool for her but as she saved her communications strategy for the last time her thoughts were quick to swing to the problem at hand.

Katelyn pushed herself back from her desk and leant further back in her chair using the swivel action to turn her body towards the window. The cool breeze from the open pane was refreshing as she stared out at the surrounding office blocks.

She and Michael had wanted children but they'd not particularly planned them into their lives, naively thinking that they were young and they had a whole lifetime together to enjoy. When he died Katelyn had found her entire life shattered in a matter of minutes. It had taken her months to even attempt living a normal life again and when she'd tried she found herself building more and more walls just to get through the day.

Being with Eli had changed that but it hadn't been without its complications. Katelyn had done her best to hide her deeper insecurities even though she had promised to be honest with him always. The first time they had slept together, although she'd needed a few moments to compose herself, she knew she was making the right choice. However later that night she'd sobbed into her pillow praying Eli wouldn't hear her; she was sure he had but he never mentioned it. In truth although he made her so happy she couldn't help the feeling that she was cheating on Michael in some way. But Eli was so patient with her even though it must have been hard for him at times; he always waited for her to open up rather than pushing for her honesty.

When she'd ended up in the hospital everything had suddely fallen into place - life was for living and being afraid wasn't an option. The night he said he loved her she'd felt all her burdens disappear and she finally felt free again.

Katelyn knew how precious every moment was and since their wedding they'd been planning their lives together. They wanted a house just outside the city and were already saving up for the mortgage down payment, naturally the conversation about children had followed but they wanted to wait until they had their home before they started trying.

Now the decision was out of their hands - they'd have a baby in less than nine months and although they would get a house, it might take a little longer. Katelyn readjusted their plans in her head and smiled at the thought of choosing a house because it had the perfect room for a nursery and a garden where their child could play. As she continued daydreaming Katelyn found herself rubbing her hand across her non existent bump and feeling much more positive about the situation. Eli would make a good father, even if he was likely to tell his possible future daughter than he didn't like her boyfriend or his possible future son that he wasn't good at football.

She just needed to tell him now.


	18. Chapter 18

She was getting impatient now - it was almost 5pm and there was still no sign of Eli. Instead, Katelyn had spent her last two hours reading up on pregnancy and she had become more and more excited with every passing web page.

It wasn't all good, there were down sides - weight gain, bigger boobs, swollen ankles and other bodily changes that were likely to be part of the package - but for the most part it was an experience she was looking forward to. She'd read a week by week breakdown and had found out that at the moment their baby was around 2cm long and had fingers of a sort. She'd even started a list of things she needed to do like getting confirmed with a doctor and sorting out a midwife and first scan.

Katelyn looked again at the clock and figured she might as well go home in the hope that he wouldn't be much longer on whatever job he was at with Lightman.

As she slid her laptop into its bag, she suddenly heard the awful sound of tyres screeching across tarmac and the unmistakeable sound of metal colliding with metal. Instinct took over and she rushed to the open window but could not see what had caused the noise.

Quickly she jogged to the lab and pushed open the door. Torres and Foster were using one of the training programmes, taking advantage of the slow day and they looked up in surprise at Katelyn's sudden entrance.

"_I think there's been an accident or something outside." _

Her statement was short and to the point but her tone of voice succeeded in getting both women out of their chairs and following Katelyn outside the building.

People from some of the other office blocks had also heard the commotion and were now making their way across the square to find out what had happened. In the distance there was already the sound of sirens.

Katelyn rounded the corner of the building and let out a small scream at the sight before her.

Lightman's car was embedded in a nearby bus stop, pinned there by a large delivery truck. The truck had hit the driver's rear side forcing the car off the road and into the metal and glass structure of the stop.

Katelyn couldn't move, even as people rushed past her to help she was fixed to the spot. Her heart hammered in her chest and blood rushed in her ears. She knew she was breathing too quickly but couldn't get her body under control as she stared at the all too familiar scene in front of her.

_"Cal!" "Lightman!"_

Foster and Torres' voices rang out as Lightman stumbled awkwardly from the driver's seat. His head was bleeding and he was holding his left arm to his body, he was unsteady on his feet and half collapsed into Foster's arms as she reached him. He looked dazed, his usual confident swagger completely gone.

Katelyn still couldn't move, her mind consumed by feelings she had hoped she'd never have to feel again - that sickening combination of panic, fear, and a pain that felt like her heart was actually being torn in two. She was right back on that street watching fire fighters cut Michael's body from her totalled light blue Toyota that had been sent spinning onto it's roof by the man she hated most in her life - a complete stranger who'd had too much to drink.

The sound of sirens cut through her memory as an ambulance and several police cars arrived simultaneously by the wreckage and the scene became surrounded by flashing lights and uniforms. Katelyn felt a surge of anger tear through her as she watched the truck driver climb out of his seat, his mobile phone sliding off his lap and clattering to the floor.

She looked over to her colleagues still not seeing the one face she needed to see. Foster had managed to get Lightman to a nearby bench and Torres was urgently pointing towards his car pleading with the paramedics to hurry.

Katelyn didn't need to hear what was being said. She already knew and could see the look of panic in Torres' face - Eli was in the passenger seat and the passenger side was lost under twisted metal.


	19. Chapter 19

Author note - gosh am I a bit evil? ;)

* * *

It was a waiting game now. That was all she could do.

They'd been sitting in the small side room for well over an hour now just waiting in silence.

Lightman had been seen by the doctors and was fortunate enough to have sustained only a minor concussion and a dislocated shoulder. After getting cleaned up and dosed up on some fairly hefty pain killers he had insisted on discharging himself. He sat on the hard plastic chair next to Foster who was gently squeezing the hand of his good arm.

Katelyn knew what Foster would be feeling. Whilst it was never the subject of office gossip, it was widely known that their relationship went far deeper than simply business partners. Katelyn sat there hoping that one of them would pluck up the courage to tell the other their true feelings and cross the well drawn in line that they had established - life was too short not to.

Torres was sitting in another of the chairs reading a magazine. Katelyn could tell she wasn't actually reading it though as the page had remained unturned for some time now. She knew that despite their regular banter and competitive natures Torres and Eli were good friends.

Katelyn turned her attention back to the door. She felt stifled in here - the pain in her chest made her feel like she was struggling to breathe and she desperately wanted to get away from the background hospital noises that conveyed nothing more than a sense of dread for her.

She stood up quickly making the others jump. They didn't ask where she was going or if she was okay and Katelyn was grateful for that. She was keeping herself together somehow but she was afraid that the fragile strength holding everything in would break if she opened her mouth to speak.

Katelyn hurried past the medical staff through the building heading for the one place in the whole hospital that couldn't make her feel worse.

She pushed open the doors and stepped into the small communal garden that was hidden in between the busy departments and bustling corridors. It was only little but it served its purpose well - to be a safe space away from the fear and worry the hospital seemed to create. She sat down on the bench in the corner by the small pond, it had changed since she'd last been here. Someone had added more stones around the pond to create a long running waterfall that tricked softly into the water. They'd taken the time to plant bright flowers in between the rocks and add a couple of colourful windmills that spun gently in the light breeze.

It had been winter the last time she had sat out here. Her coat had been pulled firmly around her body and her fingers had been thrust into her pockets to stay warm - but it was preferable to the task she faced when she walked back into the hospital.

"_Take as much time as you need" _they'd said, _"Is there anyone we can call for you?" _

She'd given them Max's number and he'd been by her side as soon as he could. Telling him that Michael was dead and that they needed someone to identify the body was the most painful and soul destroying thing she had ever had to say.

"_For the paperwork" _they'd said, _"A formality" _because he had died alone at the roadside and had left his driver's licence at home that day.

Katelyn tried to stop the few tears that threatened to spill out.

"_I thought I might find you here." _Max's familiar voice came from somewhere above her and he sat down slowly on the bench beside her.

"_I saw it on the news, heard them mention the Lightman Group and when their press officer wasn't there to give the interview I guessed something was wrong. Why didn't you call me?"_

She shrugged and he didn't push for an answer.

"_How is he?" _

She shook her head and shrugged again not daring to speak as the first couple of tears rolled silently down her cheeks.

Max didn't press any further, instead he put his arm around her shoulders and she gratefully let her body collapse into his arms, the sobs finally unstoppable.

* * *

Author note - yes definitely a bit evil.

Anyway - you can blame the site - it wouldn't let me upload yesterday otherwise you'd have had the answer you've all been waiting for already. Instead because I couldn't post, I ended up re-reading what I'd written and changing it all - so whilst I think this is better than what I had originally, it has put me back an evening. [insert evil laugh here]

Nevertheless, I am on a roll so no promises but there may be room to squeeze another chapter out tonight…


	20. Chapter 20

Author note - Hmmm…shall I put you out of your misery?

* * *

Katelyn stood at the door to Eli's hospital room, the doctor's words ringing out in her head _"very lucky…injuries not as severe as we first thought…expected to make a full recovery…" _She'd barely registered the news at first, her heart and mind fixed on hearing the worst.

She pushed open the door and stepped inside quietly.

There was a gash on his forehead that they had cleaned and fixed with butterfly strips and an oxygen mask covered his mouth and nose to help his breathing as he'd broken a few ribs and suffered a punctured lung. She could see the large dressing covering his chest where a chunk of bus stop metal had pierced his right shoulder.

Katelyn allowed herself a small smile at the coincidence - they would have complimenting scars.

She stared briefly at the angry purple bruise that spread out from his shoulder and down under the sheets - the doctors had said the bruising would make his injuries look worse and they were right. She swallowed, a lump appearing in her throat as her eyes took in the sight of him. She'd prepared herself for far worse but she still felt a heaviness in her chest as the images of the wreckage and the worried faces of her colleagues flashed through her mind.

Katelyn sat down next to his bedside and slipped her fingers carefully in between his. Eli began to stir and slowly opened his eyes, the usual light wasn't there but her heart did a small somersault when he smiled at her from behind the mask. He squeezed her hand lightly then unwrapped his fingers from hers and went to take the mask down.

"_I'm sorry."_

Katelyn half laughed and sobbed at the same time, "_What for?"_

"_For making…you worry…about me."_

She shook her head but couldn't find the words to express the relief she felt. Instead she gently took his hand again and placed her lips against his palm, his fingers lightly caressing her cheek as he wiped away the fresh tears.

"_Lightman…has a really…good car."_

Trust him to start making jokes. In truth it had been the car that had saved them - the bus stop had stood no chance - the lightweight metal had been forced out of shape and twisted beyond recognition in seconds. The car on the other hand, despite its broken windows and some fairly serious denting, had remained structurally intact for the most part.

She could see Eli trying to read her and she could have chosen to match his surprisingly positive mood, but the day's events had taken their toll and she felt utterly drained. Katelyn let him see the mixture of emotions she was feeling; she tried to hold back the immense fear and pain she had felt so strongly only minutes earlier but as ever Eli could see her struggle.

"_I'm not…going…anywhere…I promise." _

"_I know." _her voice was quiet as she leaned into his palm, so grateful that he was still with her. She relished in the feel of his touch against her skin as he stroked her cheek having feared she would never feel it again.

There was a soft knock at the door and Foster appeared followed by Lightman, Torres and Max.

"_Hope we're not interrupting, we just wanted to see how you were doing. The doctors said you'd been really lucky." _Foster's voice echoed her concern_._

Eli attempted one of his usual grins - they all knew it was forced but they all let it slide in the knowledge that their friend would be ok.

"_I was just…telling Kate that…she should go home…and get some rest…then bring me back…my favourite t-shirt…I don't look…good in hospital fashion." _

Katelyn laughed softly, she knew which t-shirt he meant - it was the one she had taken to wearing at night not long after their after their fifth date. He always said it was his favourite because it looked good on both of them but because she wore it more often it smelt like her. However she didn't want to leave him, he'd only been awake a short while and she immediatly went to protest.

_"Come on Kate, you know you should get some sleep, and anyway who's going to wait on him hand and foot when he gets out of here if you're exhausted?"_ said Max silencing her before she'd even started.

_"Exactly"_ Eli nodded his thanks to Max before his gaze fell on Lightman's own injuries.

"_Don't you worry, I'm good." _Lightman quickly read Eli's concern despite his foggy head. _"Foster's making sure I behave myself."_

Eli seemed satisfied and he looked back to Katelyn, she let out a soft sigh and rose from her chair obediently. Despite wanting to curl up on the bed next to him, she knew she should go home and get some sleep, it was getting late and she could feel her body resisting her desire to keep going - plus it wasn't just herself she needed to look after anymore.

Carefully she leant over the bed to place a gentle kiss on Eli's lips before she replaced the oxygen mask across his face. If she could she would have taken him into her arms and never let go but instead she held onto the fact that he hadn't left her, he would be waiting for her when she came back and he would be alright.

* * *

Author note - all better? :) I'm not THAT evil really.


	21. Chapter 21

Eli had been in the hospital for a just over a week, he was healing up well and the doctors had it in mind to let him go home in a few days time providing he took is easy. The bruising across his chest was still extensive but had changed from the angry purple shades to more green and yellow tones. He was still struggling to move his right arm but he was coping with his good hand and the glint in his eyes had returned.

Katelyn pushed the wheelchair into the hospital room and was pleased to see him sitting up, she was not pleased however to see him looking over case notes.

"_Where did you get those?" _

"_Erm…case note fairy?" _He tried to look sheepish, hoping she wouldn't take them off him.

"_Torres or Lightman?" _She knew it wouldn't have been Foster, she had too much of the mothering instinct to actively go against doctors orders.

"_Lightman." _Katelyn rolled her eyes selecting the most likely culprit.

"_Since when have you been able to read people?" _Eli challenged her wondering what he'd done to help her pick out who had smuggled in the notes.

She laughed, _"I can't - not like you anyway. But Lightman did mention that you'd be particularly interested in our current case because of something to do with herd mentality and some kind of animal."_

Eli gave one of his usual grins - the case was interesting and he was rather desperate to see the footage that went with it. It would help his ongoing study to do with…He snapped out of his thoughts as he spotted the wheelchair.

"_What's that for?"_

"_I have a surprise for you, but you're not walking to it."_

"_Ooh, I like surprises."_

Katelyn was enjoying seeing his usual energy and lighthearted personality reappear. For the first few days, although he'd been talking she could tell he wasn't feeling like himself. There hadn't been much of the banter that she was so used to and she had missed it so it felt good to see him returning to his normal self. Katelyn helped him out of bed and into the chair which he promptly grumbled about as he felt that she shouldn't be pushing him around. Nevertheless he still hadn't done much more walking than a lap or two round his room so she ignored his protests and wheeled him though the corridors towards the day clinic.

She sat patiently in the waiting room with Eli's wheelchair parked up beside her.

"_Can I get out of this thing now?_

"_No"_

"_But its been over a week." _He continued his earlier protest.

"_I don't care, no." _

He stuck his tongue out at her and tried to fold his good arm into his bad one to make himself look as sulky as possible. It didn't work and he winced in pain.

"_Behave yourself please, the doctor says you're healing really well."_

He used his hand to mimic her talking, not satisfied that his earlier attempt at the impression of a petulant child had failed. She laughed at him and he grinned back.

"_What are we doing here anyway, is everything alright?"_

"_Everything's fine, it's a surprise."_

"_Do I need to have some test that I'd rather not have? That wouldn't be a nice suprise."_

"_I'm not saying anything." _Katelyn could feel his eyes scanning her face and she deliberately looked away to hide the smile that was threatening to break out.

"_Katelyn Loker?" _the nurses voice rang out across the waiting room.

She stood up and pushed Eli into the treatment room, again parking him up at her side as she sat down on the small bed. She'd spoken with the nurse beforehand and told her to just get on with it without saying anything so the nurse diligently started the session as requested.

Wordlessly but with a small smile, the nurse indicated for Katelyn to lean back and lift up her top. She smeared on the cold gel and began the ultrasound scan.

Katelyn watched Eli's face as the nurse moved the device around her stomach. He was looking between the screen and her, his brows furrowed in confusion as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"_Ok then, here we are." _the nurse stopped her movements and turned a dial up on the machine allowing a soft watery thumping noise to fill the room.

"_I would definitely say you're around nine weeks and that is a really nice strong heartbeat."_

Eli's jaw had dropped open slightly as his eyes became fixed on the screen.

"_Is that…" _

Katelyn let him work his way through the realisation of the news that was staring him in the face. She took a moment for herself to listen to the heartbeat that seemed to fill the room as she waited for him to speak.

"_Is that…our baby?"_

Katelyn nodded finally letting her smile and elation come through. She'd been holding onto the secret for what seemed like forever not feeling that it was the right time to tell him after the accident. Eli had been so tired she'd wanted him to have full focus on getting well and although she thought the news may have helped him, she also knew he would have been worried about her being home alone and would have felt like he was missing out in some way.

"_I'll give you two a minute." _the nurse captured the image on the screen and set the device on the side before she left the room.

"_We're having a baby?"_

"_Yes, in about seven months."_

"_A baby?"_

She laughed out loud but she could tell by the look on his face that although he was a little shocked, he was also pleased. Katelyn sat up slightly and reached for the wipes on a small moveable table next to her. She carefully wiped off the gel and lowered her top as she waited for Eli to fully absorb the news.

He was just staring at the image on the screen which to be fair didn't resemble a baby as such. It was only a few centimetres big and the grainy image didn't really allow for identification of key body parts but it was their baby.

The next thing she knew he had stood up from his wheelchair and had gathered her up into his arms, his lips finding hers. She quickly made sure she wasn't hurting him and gladly let him kiss her. He lowered his good arm until his palm had made its way underneath her top and was resting on her 'bump to be'.

He pulled back slowly and looked into her eyes.

"_When did you find out?" _

She hesitated for a moment wondering if she should tell him or not, but unwittingly her hesitation answered his question.

"_Oh Kate I'm sorry."_

"_You keep apologising for something that wasn't your fault. Please stop." _Her voice choked up instantly as the memories appeared in her mind.

He sighed softly and drew her back to him, his good arm moving from her front to hold her tightly against his body. It was the first opportunity she'd had to be in his arms properly since the accident and she could feel the flood of emotions building up inside her again.

"_I know it wasn't my fault, but I know that it must have been so hard for you and I hate that you had to go through it."_

Katelyn tried to pull herself together not wanting him to see that she was still finding it difficult to cope, but she failed as she felt his heart beating through his t-shirt and the realisation of how close she had come to losing him crept back over her. Eli just held her tightly as she sobbed against him, letting her get it all out. After a few minutes she pulled back and looked up into his eyes seeing nothing but love looking back at her.

"_I love you Kate." _his voice was strong and sincere.

"_I love you too."_

He suddenly knelt down in front of her to address her midriff, _"And I love you too little bump."_

Katelyn laughed as the mood in the room lightened instantly and she began to feel for the first time in the last week that things would be ok. Eli stood up from the floor and placed another kiss on her lips.

"_I need to get you back to your room, they'll be thinking you've done a runner."_

"_Do I have to go back in the wheelchair?" _He pouted as he asked the question, pushing his bottom lip out.

"_You really should…" _

"_Oh please Kate…I'll take it slow I promise and I'll go in it as soon as I get tired." _

"_Geez, how many kids am I going to have after the baby's born?" _she replied mocking his pleading.

"_Just the one, honest. I've got seven months to grow up." _

* * *

Author note: A big thank you to my lovely reviewers, I really do appreciate your comments.

This story is nearly at its end and I'm thinking there will only be maybe one more chapter left. I hope you've enjoyed reading :)


	22. Chapter 22

Author note: So here it is…the final chapter...

* * *

"_What about Connor?"_

"_Connor Loker? I don't think so…it sounds like a Hawaiian bar."_

"_Well how about…" _Eli flipped through the book before selecting a page _"…Finlay or Flynn?"_

"_Are you seriously liking these names or just picking them out randomly?"_

Eli tossed the book back in the bag and leant back into his chair with a sigh, _"We have to choose something you know."_

"_I know but there are thousands of names and I want it to be right not just something off a random page of a book, besides we don't even know what it is yet."_

"_I bet it's a boy."_

"_Sorry to disappoint but I think it's a definitely girl." _Katelyn rubbed her stomach with a smile.

"_Care to put money on it?"_

"_No…but I will put the first diaper change on it."_

"_You're on."_

The conversation was instantly culled as Katelyn gripped hold of the bed frame and gritted her teeth against the contraction. Eli was beside her in seconds, his hand gently massaging her lower back as they waited for it to pass.

They'd been in the hospital for around two hours already and apparently she was around 6cm dilated having been officially in labour for a lot longer. Eli had wanted to take her in sooner but Katelyn had resisted saying that she'd rather risk an accidental home birth than spend more time in a hospital than she absolutely had to. He hadn't been happy about it and she had giggled through her first few hours watching him pace around the apartment gathering towels 'just in case' and making sure the midwife was on speed dial.

The contractions had finally got a bit too much though and she had let Eli load her into the car along with the 'baby bag' he had so diligently packed and repacked several times whilst waiting.

"_You can take the gas and air you know, its not cheating." _Eli sat back down in the chair as Katelyn returned to her slow pacing of the small room.

"_I'm doing alright at the moment, plus I don't feel like sitting down and gas and air makes me dizzy." _

She knew why he wanted her to have pain relief - he could read every contraction in her face. It wasn't that she wanted to torture him, or that she was hell bent on a 'natural birth' but she really didn't like hospitals, having spent some of the worst moments of her life in them, she just wanted as little interference as possible. She was only really here because she knew Eli wouldn't really have coped with her having a home birth - he had been very attentive during the last seven months, sometimes too attentive as she had never felt more like an open book as he watched her every expression to make sure she and the baby were alright. When a few Braxton-Hicks had happened a couple of weeks ago he had practically gone into panic mode until Katelyn had made him stand still long enough to explain what they actually were.

Katelyn motioned for Eli to hand her the baby book and she began her own random flipping of the pages as she paced. They were struggling to find a name that they both liked and one that felt 'right', especially as Eli was convinced it was a boy and rapidly bypassed any girl's name suggestions in favour of boy's ones.

A nurse popped her head around the door, _"Shall we give you another check up and see where we're at?"_

Katelyn smiled at the woman but Eli caught the flash of annoyance that also crossed her face as she returned to the bed and shuffled awkwardly onto it, the book once again relegated to the bag. She grimaced as the nurse snapped on a pair of gloves and put her hand in places that even Eli hadn't been allowed near in quite a while.

"_Well we're coming along very nicely - not far from the magic 10cm now so hopefully it shouldn't be much longer." _

When the nurse had satisfactorily concluded her examination, Eli and Katelyn were left in peace again - the baby book taunting them from the bag.

"_What about Glenda?" _Eli mused.

"_Please tell me you're joking?" _Katelyn rolled her eyes at the suggestion wondering simultaneously why he had suddenly picked a girls name and where she'd heard that particular one recently.

"_What's wrong with Glenda? You did insist we were having a girl."_

Katelyn realised where she had seen the name and she frowned, not at all impressed_._

"_You really want to name our child after the woman who just had her hand in my lady parts. That is really classy." _

Katelyn couldn't help the sarcasm that crept out as another painful contraction rippled through her. This time she batted Eli's hand away as he reached for her.

"_Hey! What did I do?"_

She scowled at him as the last wave of the contraction subsided.

"_You're not taking this seriously enough. Our baby will have to live with the name we pick for the rest of its life and if it was up to you you'd pick any passing thing. I'm surprised you haven't suggested Pepsi yet."_

Katelyn threw her hand out to the open drinks can on the side table then folded her arms in a huff not bothering to hide her pissed off expression in the slightest.

Eli chuckled softly finding her sudden mood swing amusing, _"Wow that was a pretty heavy dose of hormones there, feeling better now?"_

She tried to keep up her scowl but Eli could see her expression softening despite his teasing and patronising tone. She'd had a few 'mad moments' throughout the pregnancy and Eli had quickly realised that calling her on it was the quickest way to diffuse it - he'd tried making jokes and even playing along but it had only made it worse so he'd opted for his usual honesty policy.

The first time it had happened he'd been caught off guard; she was trying to get something out of the top kitchen cupboard and was getting increasingly frustrated that she couldn't do her usual trick of climbing on the counter top. He'd made a joke about her being short and something that may have translated as 'fat' in her mind; normally she would have fired back with a witty comment but instead, he'd found a plastic bowl being launched at his head. He'd learnt quickly that pregnant women were not to be messed with.

Eli stood up and sat carefully on the bed next to Katelyn, his right arm moving round her shoulders so she could lean her head against his chest. She gratefully snuggled up against him feeling bad that she had snapped at him. He stroked her hair for a few moments before offering up another name.

"_So what about Pepsi then?"_

Katelyn groaned and thumped him lightly in the ribs.

* * *

Katelyn was exhausted and was rapidly losing the battle against sleep. She'd started labour at around 3pm the day before and despite it all going smoothly their baby hadn't arrived until 5am. Fourteen hours in labour, especially overnight when your head was telling you to sleep but your body was throwing contractions into the mix wasn't a revitalising experience in the slightest.

It was almost 6am now but Katelyn didn't want to take her eyes off the sight in front of her. She lay on the bed on her side gazing at Eli holding their little baby girl, his arms supporting the 6 pound 8 ounce weight easily with a look of complete adoration and contentment on his face.

"_I've always had the perfect name ready you know." _his voice was quiet as he spoke to Katelyn, his eyes flicking momentarily to her face before returning to their baby.

"_Oh yeah," _Katelyn couldn't hide the fatigue in her voice as she yawned.

"_That's why I was always giving you boys names because I didn't have the perfect one for a boy yet, but I did for a girl." _

"_But I thought you were expecting a boy, you even bet the first diaper change on it?"_

"_Well there was still a fifty-fifty chance either way." _

Katelyn let out a small laugh, _"So what is this perfect name then?"_

Eli looked up at her and Katelyn didn't need any of his skills to know he was conveying how much he loved her in his expression.

"_Do you remember the night when we sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow?"_

Katelyn nodded secretly hoping he wasn't going to suggest Dorothy or Toto.

"_That was the night when I first realised I loved you. I should have told you there and then but I was scared and I didn't want you to feel rushed or under pressure or anything. From that moment, every time I saw you I wanted to tell you how much you meant to me but I couldn't quite believe it myself, I'd never felt that way about anyone before."_

Katelyn felt tears start to well up in her eyes at his unexpected confession, that night had been quite a turning point for her too, but she'd never known how important it had been for him.

"_I always thought if we ever got this far that I didn't want to forget that night and seeing as though that song was the favourite of both our grandmothers then perhaps, if we had a little girl, we could name her after them."_

It was what Katelyn had been searching for, a name that actually meant something to them, not one just picked off the pages of a book. She couldn't help the lump that appeared in her throat as she realised he had been thinking of a name for their baby long before they were even married.

"_Olivia Rose." _Katelyn smiled in agreement as she whispered the name Eli had chosen, _"You're right, it is perfect." _

"_I'm glad you like it." _Eli carefully leant over and placed a gentle kiss on Katelyn's forehead; as he sat back into the chair he stiffened slightly as the newly named Olivia stirred in her sleep. Once Eli was satisfied he hadn't disturbed her, he relaxed and turned his attention back towards Katelyn whose eyes were still focused on the tiny bundle in his arms.

"_Now Kate..." _She looked up at him with tired eyes, a sleepy smile still playing across her lips,_ "...I don't want to be rude, but you do look absolutely shattered, maybe you should get some sleep?" _

He saw the look of hesitation that crossed her features, _"We'll both be here when you wake up, I promise."_

"_One more cuddle first?" _she asked quietly as she shifted into a more upright position on the bed in anticipation of his agreement.

Eli smiled softly then handed over the little sleeping figure to Katelyn, _"One more cuddle."_

Katelyn took her baby from her husband and cradled Olivia's head carefully in the crux of her arm. She felt as if she could spend all day like this regardless of how tired she was, from the minute the midwife had placed Olivia in her arms she had never wanted to let go.

"_Hello Olivia" _Katelyn's voice slipped automatically into that sing-song pitch all parents seemed to use around newborns. Olivia stretched out her little fingers and crinkled her nose before settling back into sleep again.

Katelyn giggled and looked at Eli, _"So what does that mean?"_

"_In theory it could mean she hates the name, a wrinkling of the nose like that could be disgust. However, in my professional opinion I think it means she's a baby and that is the only expression she can do at the moment." _

They both laughed quietly at Eli's assessment.

"_Are you going to be as bad as Lightman is with Emily?" _

"_What, you mean paranoid about her every move and checking out every person she spends time with especially if it's a boy?…Definitely! We might even have to start a club so we can compare notes." _

He reached out to touch Olivia's tiny fingers which flexed out again wrapping themselves around his forefinger. They were both quiet for a moment just gazing at their little baby before Eli again raised the topic of Katelyn getting some rest. He motioned for her to pass Olivia back to him.

Katelyn nodded - she didn't really want to but felt too tired to argue. She could feel the tiredness creeping back into her mind and knew that it was perhaps the last opportunity she would get for some half decent rest before they'd be facing nightly wake up calls. She let Eli take Olivia from her arms and then moved further down into the bed to make herself comfortable, another yawn escaping her.

Eli lay Olivia down in the small hospital cot by Katelyn's side then sat down on the edge of the bed. He raised his hand to caress along her temple, pushing a few stray strands of hair from Katelyn's face. She closed her eyes and felt her body relax gratefully as she allowed herself to succumb to sleep.

As his fingers gently played across her cheek, the last thing she heard as she drifted off was Eli telling her he loved her.

* * *

So then, that's it I'm afraid, we have come to the end. I really do hope you have enjoyed reading, I have certainly enjoyed writing and I appreciate all the reviews immensely.

(P.S This was perhaps the hardest chapter I decided to write so I do hope it comes across ok.)

Thanks CDC2010.


End file.
